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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves found the net during injury time to secure a slender win, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital 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 disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having produced only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly 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 stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

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 his team with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.