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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a 1-0 win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group matches having produced only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated 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 Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.