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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

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

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. 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 five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant Group E run with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and his compatriot secured the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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 last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

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