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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup qualifying encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves nodded in during injury time to claim a narrow win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half stoppage time.

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

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched 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, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.