Injury-Time Goal from Rúben Neves Stuns the Irish After Caoimhín Kelleher Stops Ronaldo Penalty

Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had denied a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder headed home during stoppage time to secure a slender triumph, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty performance that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F matches having yielded only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a qualifying place.

Major Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and a teammate secured the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant Group E run with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their prospects of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on the group leaders or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the last two World Cups, twice 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 their qualifying group. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.