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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves headed home during injury time to claim a slender win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.