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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a 1-0 win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.