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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to secure a narrow win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken volley in late added time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant Group E run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.