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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to snatch a narrow triumph, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed 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 Group F games having produced only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.