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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying encounter against 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 secure a slender victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome 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 restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having produced only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a neat shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering 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 game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.