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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to snatch a slender triumph, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures 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 defending deep. Spain dominated 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 Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.