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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to snatch a narrow triumph, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a neat shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals 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 injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.