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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves headed home during injury time to claim a 1-0 win, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored 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 injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.