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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during injury time to snatch a slender victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F matches having produced only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.