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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to claim a 1-0 win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, 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 made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games 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 showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.