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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during added time to claim a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group matches having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted 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 Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.