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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to claim a 1-0 victory, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F matches having produced only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.