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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves headed home during injury time to secure a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied 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.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.