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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to claim a 1-0 victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority 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 preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot secured the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain 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 knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.