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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to claim a narrow victory, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group run with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the title holders’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.