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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup match against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a slender victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced 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 winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute 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 spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.