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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during injury time to snatch a narrow triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in late added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera 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.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side 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 averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.