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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to snatch a narrow win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a single draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half 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. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, 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, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.