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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves nodded in during added time to secure a slender triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

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 qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability 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 most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.