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

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to claim a slender triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated 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 their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of 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 entering the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.