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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to claim a slender triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the points in second-half added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, 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 defending deep. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.