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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to secure a slender triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, 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 global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.