🔗 Share this article

The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves found the net during added time to claim a slender victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff spot.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia 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 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain 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 second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.