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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to snatch a slender win, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on 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 restoring a good deal of honor with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win 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, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

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