🔗 Share this article

Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to snatch a 1-0 victory, several seasons after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.