🔗 Share this article

The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves nodded in during added time to snatch a 1-0 victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host 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 leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.