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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves found the net during stoppage time to claim a narrow victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored 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 two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive Group E run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter 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 Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out 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 Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.