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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to claim a slender triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F games having produced only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj 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 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and his compatriot secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• 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 Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “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 global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.