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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

Neves found the net during added time to claim a slender win, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having produced only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot secured the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.