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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to snatch a 1-0 victory, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

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 spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.