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

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to claim a narrow triumph, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having produced only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a neat shot in late added time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes 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, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the match with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive 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 boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.