🔗 Share this article

The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to snatch a slender triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were held 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 qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.