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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

Neves found the net during stoppage time to claim a 1-0 win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end 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 leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.