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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised 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 gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments 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 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.