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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a narrow win, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat 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 his team with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot 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 dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now appears their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.