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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of 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 win, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’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 directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in late added time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.