Late Goal from Rúben Neves Shocks Ireland Following Caoimhín Kelleher Denies Cristiano Ronaldo Spot-Kick

Rúben Neves came to the rescue for Portugal with a last-gasp winning goal in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Overview

Neves nodded in during injury time to secure a slender victory, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the loss puts them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F games having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper looked to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K continued as they were held to a two-all 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 first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant Group E run with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the match 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 Giorgi Mamardashvili averting 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 stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’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 their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. Italy have twelve points with a game in hand on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia 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.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.