🔗 Share this article

Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

Neves headed home during stoppage time to claim a 1-0 win, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for his team with a neat volley in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy 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, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.