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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

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

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, 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 second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 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 remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.