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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup clash against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had saved a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

Neves found the net during added time to claim a 1-0 win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive Group E run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now appears their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.