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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during added time to claim a slender victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in second-half added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team 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. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in late added time.

Latvia struggles in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored 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 dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three 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 entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.