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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to snatch a slender victory, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a single draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 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 Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.