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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to secure a narrow victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

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

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a single draw. They must defeat 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 point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg 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 headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.