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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to snatch a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a gritty 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 qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win 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. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.