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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during added time to secure a 1-0 win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

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

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler 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.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.