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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to claim a slender victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were held 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 extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.