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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during injury time to snatch a narrow triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

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

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having produced only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.