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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

Neves headed home during added time to snatch a narrow victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty display 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 first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late added time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.