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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during stoppage time to claim a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.