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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying 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 provided his team the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.