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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to secure a narrow victory, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the points in late added 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 qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant Group E run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.