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Rúben Neves was the hero for the Portuguese side with a dramatic winner in their World Cup match against Ireland, following Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Overview

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to claim a slender win, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of honor with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the defeat leaves them facing elimination, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Major Incidents

• The Liverpool keeper seemed 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.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided Hungary the advantage in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

Serbia suffered a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now secure their passage from Group K by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the only goal for his team with a neat volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to several matches.

Group E

Spain continued their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The win continued the European champions’ flawless record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without conceding.

In spite of the absence of players such as a talented winger, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain dominated the match with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a spectacular free kick after the Georgian keeper had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.

Other Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive thrashing over Bulgaria to keep the pressure on the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to Estonia, thanks to strikes from a forward, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

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

The Azzurri missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on points, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.