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

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to snatch a slender win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.