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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

Neves headed home during added time to secure a 1-0 win, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a solitary point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive Group E campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated 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 goalkeeper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.