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Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during injury time to secure a slender victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men 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 battling performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a solitary draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the victory in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat volley in first-half added time.

Latvia struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable win over the Georgian side after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s a young talent was among the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for the Italian squad.