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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 victory, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in late added time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching 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 commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.