Late Goal from Rúben Neves Stuns Ireland Following Caoimhín Kelleher Saves Cristiano Ronaldo Penalty

The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves headed home during injury time to secure a slender win, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

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

However, the loss leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single point. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

Hungary enhanced their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory 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 first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat shot in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the away side 12 minutes from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable win over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Additional Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• The Italian squad improved their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now appears their primary chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for the Italian squad.