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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to snatch a slender triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a single draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’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 Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.