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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves found the net during added time to snatch a 1-0 victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

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. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.