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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during added time to snatch a narrow win, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling 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 matches having produced only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.