Injury-Time Strike from Rúben Neves Sinks Ireland After Caoimhín Kelleher Saves Ronaldo Penalty

The Portuguese midfielder was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during injury time to secure a 1-0 triumph, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves 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 advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal victory over Armenia, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber secured the points in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

Latvia struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the away side 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ flawless run in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

Pino broke the deadlock in the first half from a well-executed dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. The Spanish club’s a young talent was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now appears their most likely chance after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.