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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

Neves headed home during stoppage time to snatch a slender win, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the points in second-half added time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a well-taken volley in late added time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their dominant Group E run with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of 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 backdoor route now appears their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy host Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.