🔗 Share this article

The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves found the net during stoppage time to snatch a narrow win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having produced only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot secured the victory in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side 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 competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.