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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during stoppage time to secure a slender triumph, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the points in late added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into 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 leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.