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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup match against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during injury time to snatch a slender victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.