🔗 Share this article

The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to secure a 1-0 win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

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

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group run with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects 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 a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.