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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to claim a slender victory, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a solitary point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate 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 secure their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer 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 free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

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