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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to claim a slender triumph, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

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

Despite the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.