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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves found the net during injury time to claim a slender victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

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

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain controlled the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate 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 routine, and his compatriot secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now appears their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.