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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to snatch a narrow win, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

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

Major Incidents

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

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players 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% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.