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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves headed home during stoppage time to secure a narrow victory, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group games having produced only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

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

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.