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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during added time to secure a narrow victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

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

However, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in late stoppage 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 found the net 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 continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.