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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to claim a slender win, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

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

Despite the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game 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 scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the win in the second period with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.