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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to claim a slender victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points 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 outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in their group persisted 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 several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.