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The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to claim a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad 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 performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F matches having produced only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss 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 scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.