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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to snatch a slender win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a single draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor 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 dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand 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 advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.