Stoppage-Time Goal from Neves Sinks the Irish After Kelleher Saves Cristiano Ronaldo Spot-Kick

The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had denied a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during injury time to claim a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their initial trio of Group F games having yielded only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the opening moments of added time when he headed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Other Qualifying Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team enhanced their chances of advancing by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over Armenia, moving above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave his team the advantage in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

Serbia suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now secure their qualification from their qualifying group by beating Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj netted the decisive strike for Albania with a neat shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group persisted as they were held to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Group E

The Spanish national team maintained their dominant qualifying group campaign with a 2-0 win over the Georgian side after goals from a Spanish attacker and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of players such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% possession, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.

Pino opened the scoring in the first half from a expertly taken set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s penalty.

Additional Results

• Turkey bounced back with a 6-1 victory over the Bulgarian side to stay close to Spain in Group E. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from a forward, Mateo Retegui, and a third scorer.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We know our responsibilities.”

The Azzurri missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 win over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are top on eighteen points from six matches. Italy have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides entering the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a victory would secure second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake Norway on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.