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Rúben Neves saved the day for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to secure a slender victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves 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 chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders 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 feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.