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

Match Summary

Neves headed home during stoppage time to secure a slender win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having produced only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

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

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.