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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during added time to claim a 1-0 victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.