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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a slender victory, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in late added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.