🔗 Share this article

The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 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

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

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

Other Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’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 goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.