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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves headed home during injury time to secure a 1-0 victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

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

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’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.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders 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 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for the Italian squad.