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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper 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 an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in second-half added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, 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 defending deep. Spain controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

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

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now appears their most likely opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in Group I. 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 ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.