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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves nodded in during added time to secure a narrow win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot 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 Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know 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 feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.