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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to secure a narrow win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

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

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up 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 opening period and a teammate secured the victory in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in late added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. 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 winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.