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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to claim a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty 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 point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a neat volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having notched 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, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the win 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 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.