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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during stoppage time to secure a narrow victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in second-half added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for the Italian squad.