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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to snatch a slender win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

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

Key Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.