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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to claim a 1-0 win, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

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

Major Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

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

Other Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for the Italian squad.