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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves nodded in during added time to snatch a narrow victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a single draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match 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 scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.