Late Goal from Neves Sinks the Irish After Kelleher Stops Cristiano Ronaldo Penalty

The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winner in their World Cup encounter against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during added time to claim a narrow victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining a good deal of pride with a battling display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them in a difficult position, with their first three Group F games having produced only a single point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for his team with a well-taken shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in their group persisted as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot secured the victory in the second period with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of our responsibilities.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, twice falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six matches. 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 fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win 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.