Stoppage-Time Goal from Rúben Neves Shocks Ireland Following Caoimhín Kelleher Saves Ronaldo Spot-Kick

Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to snatch a slender triumph, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a battling display that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular 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 Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.