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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during injury time to secure a 1-0 victory, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal 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 stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.