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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 the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to claim a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying 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 the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage 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 Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.