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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to claim a 1-0 victory, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in late added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match 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 goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders 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 looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.