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

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to claim a narrow win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot probably awaits for the Italian squad.