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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to snatch a 1-0 win, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the points in late added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors late on 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 maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.