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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup match against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to secure a narrow win, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in first-half added time.

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

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.