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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup match against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves found the net during added time to secure a 1-0 triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match 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 preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.