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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to secure a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net 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.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% 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.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.