Late Strike from Neves Shocks the Irish After Kelleher Stops Cristiano Ronaldo Penalty

Rúben Neves was the hero for Portugal with a dramatic winning goal in their World Cup qualifying clash against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to claim a slender triumph, several seasons after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to overcome a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of Group F games having produced only a solitary draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Major Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Results

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of advancing by securing their initial victory with a two-goal victory over Armenia, moving above their opponents into second place behind Portugal in Group F. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the lead in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning England can now secure their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K persisted as they were forced 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 qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Spain’s Group

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a clear chance, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after the Georgian keeper had denied a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable victory away to Estonia, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and a third scorer.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their most likely opportunity after Norway’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in their qualifying group. Norway are top on 18 points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.