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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

Neves nodded in during stoppage time to secure a narrow triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.