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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

Neves found the net during injury time to claim a narrow win, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now secure their qualification from Group K 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 Group K persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group run with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the playoffs.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for the Italian squad.