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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during added time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

Italy failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.