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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to claim a slender victory, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

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 looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.