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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves nodded in during stoppage time to claim a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked 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 opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered 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 scored the only goal for his team with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt 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 well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.