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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to claim a 1-0 victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.