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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to claim a 1-0 triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.