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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in first-half added time.

Latvia struggles in Group K continued as they were held 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 qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.