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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to claim a narrow victory, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

Despite 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 dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.