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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to secure a narrow win, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a single draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

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

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team 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 one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.