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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup match against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves nodded in during injury time to secure a 1-0 victory, 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 restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having produced only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage 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 picking up their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and his compatriot secured the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. 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 World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.