🔗 Share this article

Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a playoff place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team host Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for the Italian squad.