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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to snatch a narrow win, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort 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 Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late 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 qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.