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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to secure a 1-0 win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

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

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing 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 the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team 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 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

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 most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.