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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to secure a slender win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added 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 Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot secured the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.