Stoppage-Time Header from Neves Shocks Ireland After Caoimhín Kelleher Denies Cristiano Ronaldo Spot-Kick

The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for the Portuguese side with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Match Summary

Neves nodded in during injury time to claim a slender triumph, four years after the star striker had scored twice late on to defeat a stubborn Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought point, but ultimately left empty-handed, despite restoring a good deal of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having produced only a single point. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Key Moments

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a point when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by securing their initial victory with a two-goal triumph over Armenia, moving above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs provided Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team suffered a narrow loss at home to Albania, with the outcome meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the decisive strike for his team with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were held to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera found the net for the visitors 12 minutes from time to claim them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Group E

Spain maintained their impressive Group E run with a comfortable victory over Georgia after goals from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win extended the European champions’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three games without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgian team that spent most of the match defending deep. The home side dominated the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in Group E. The Spanish club’s a young talent was among 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: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the previous two global tournaments, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive hammering over Israel in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. The Estonian squad stay fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the playoffs.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ far superior goal ratio means a qualifying place probably awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.