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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves headed home during stoppage time to claim a narrow win, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves 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.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were forced 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 initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive Group E run with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor 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. The home side controlled the match with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

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.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now appears their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot probably awaits for the Italian squad.