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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to secure a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% 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.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.