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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

Neves headed home during stoppage time to snatch a narrow win, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E run 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’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and his compatriot secured the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of 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.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.