Late Header from Rúben Neves Shocks the Irish Following Kelleher Stops Ronaldo Spot-Kick

The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup clash against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during injury time to secure a 1-0 triumph, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned draw, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss leaves them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having produced only a solitary point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a playoff place.

Major Moments

• Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

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

Group K

Serbia slipped to a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now seal their passage from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in late stoppage time.

Latvia difficulties in their group persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain continued their dominant qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in the match venue. The result extended the European champions’ flawless record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgia team that passed most of the match defending deep. The home side controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper their keeper preventing a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal secured the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded playoff path now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the tournament, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.