🔗 Share this article

Rúben Neves came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to claim a narrow victory, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them facing elimination, with their first three Group F games having yielded only a solitary point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ perfect run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly 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 mathematically catch Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.