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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to claim a narrow triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed 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 victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.