🔗 Share this article

The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves found the net during stoppage time to claim a slender triumph, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a resilient 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 significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

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

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.