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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

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

However, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.