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Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to claim a slender victory, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued 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 initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the title holders’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely opportunity after Norway’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 game in hand on their competitors and are three points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.