🔗 Share this article

Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winner in their World Cup match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

Neves headed home during added time to snatch a slender triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their impressive Group E run with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the match with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

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

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 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 in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.