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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to claim a narrow victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Major Moments

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

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary 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 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• 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 their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.