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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to secure a narrow victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a battling display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a neat volley in late added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 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 remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.