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

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during injury time to secure a slender triumph, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all tie 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 extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

Italy failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.