Late Goal from Neves Shocks the Irish Following Kelleher Saves Ronaldo Spot-Kick

Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp winner in their World Cup match against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves found the net during stoppage time to claim a narrow 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 leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of qualifying by securing their first win with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided his team the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side 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 earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

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

Other Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

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

Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of Israel. Estonia remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.