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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to claim a slender victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a solitary point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in second-half added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a neat volley in first-half added time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.