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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to secure a narrow victory, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Key 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 shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net 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 several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive Group E campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia remain 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 face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.