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

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to snatch a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing 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.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

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

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.