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

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to secure a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty display 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 first three Group F matches having produced only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, 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 only goal for his team with a neat volley in late added time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on 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 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.