🔗 Share this article

The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a injury-time decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying encounter against Ireland, after the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to snatch a narrow victory, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

The Irish squad appeared poised to leave Lisbon with a well-earned point, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing loss in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them in a difficult position, with their initial trio of qualifying group games having produced only a solitary draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a qualifying place.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Portugal’s Group

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their rivals into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the advantage in the opening period and a teammate made sure of the victory in second-half added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team slipped to a narrow loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result 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 neat shot in late added time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were held to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player found the net for the visitors late on from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a 2-0 win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in the match venue. The result continued the title holders’ perfect record in qualifying, having notched 11 goals in three matches without letting in a goal.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to fitness issues, the Spanish squad showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game sitting back. The home side dominated the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt 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 well-executed set-piece routine, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the win in the second period with a spectacular free kick after Mamardashvili had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• Italy boosted their hopes of at least making the qualifying playoffs with a comfortable victory 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 are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice 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 18 points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of their next opponents. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The group winners advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the playoffs.

The Italian national team face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on points, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.