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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup encounter against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to secure a slender victory, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a solitary point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half added time.

Latvia difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that passed most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot secured the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams 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 the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.