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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

Neves nodded in during stoppage time to claim a 1-0 win, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted 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 earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.