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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves headed home during stoppage time to claim a slender win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

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

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances 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 Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. 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 scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• 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 Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.