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

Match Summary

Neves headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 win, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles 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 claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side 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 competitors and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.