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The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to claim a 1-0 victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.