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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves found the net during injury time to secure a 1-0 win, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

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

However, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having produced only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

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 Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.