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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to snatch a slender win, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck an Irish defender’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 Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side 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 hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.