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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup match against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during added time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

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

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.