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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves headed home during injury time to claim a narrow win, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in late added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E 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’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching 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 Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.