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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to claim a 1-0 win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, 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 his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.