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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to snatch a 1-0 victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, 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 qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of advancing by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

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 most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.