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

Match Overview

Neves headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 triumph, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having produced only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Group F

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.