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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to claim a narrow win, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory 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 passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side 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 shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, 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 failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.