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The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.