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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

Neves headed home during injury time to secure a narrow victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

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 display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a playoff spot.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in late stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the title holders’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.