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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 Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves found the net during stoppage time to secure a slender victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot secured the win in the second period with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.