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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup qualifying encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during stoppage time to secure a 1-0 triumph, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner 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.

Additional Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing 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 second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.