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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to snatch a slender victory, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in second-half 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 their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken volley in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ flawless run in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite 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 Georgia team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain controlled the encounter 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 rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s comprehensive win over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.