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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during injury time to claim a slender victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili 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 win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.