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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to claim a slender win, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

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

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team 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 the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the title holders’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.