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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to claim a slender victory, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group run with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, 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.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among 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 goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.