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Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having yielded only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, climbing above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late added time.

Group K

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor 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 over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen 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 stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for the Italian squad.