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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves headed home during added time to snatch a slender victory, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad 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 a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.