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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to claim a 1-0 win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F 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 Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor 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. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.