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

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to secure a narrow victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty 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 stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.