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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals 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 fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.