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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a narrow win, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a battling display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased 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% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. 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.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely awaits for the Italian squad.