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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup match against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

Neves headed home during stoppage time to claim a slender win, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.