🔗 Share this article

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

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to snatch a slender triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

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

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have twelve 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 runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.