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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves nodded in during stoppage time to secure a slender triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat 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. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive 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 rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.