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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during injury time to claim a narrow win, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• 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 Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in late added time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net 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.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. 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 advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.