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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having produced only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.