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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves nodded in during injury time to claim a 1-0 victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’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.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in late stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat 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 netted the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant Group E run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

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 most of the match defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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 missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for the Italian squad.