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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves nodded in during injury time to snatch a slender triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat 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. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders 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 knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.