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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves headed home during added time to claim a 1-0 triumph, four years 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 draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having produced only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in late added time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive Group E run 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 run in qualifying, 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 the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.