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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup match against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to secure a narrow triumph, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate secured the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted 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 claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive Group E campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.