Stoppage-Time Header from Neves Sinks the Irish After Kelleher Saves Cristiano Ronaldo Penalty

The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a dramatic decisive strike in their World Cup qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Game Overview

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during stoppage time to claim a narrow win, four years after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned point, but in the end left empty-handed, despite restoring a significant amount of pride with a gritty display that erased some of the memories of last month’s disappointing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a single draw. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of claiming a qualifying place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher seemed to have earned Ireland a draw when he superbly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his outstretched foot after a Portuguese player’s effort had struck Dara O’Shea’s arm.
• Neves saved Portugal in the opening moments of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past Kelleher.

Additional Qualifying Results

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of advancing by picking up their first win with a two-goal triumph over the Armenian side, moving above their rivals into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward provided his team the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the victory in late added time.

England’s Group

The Serbian national team slipped to a 1-0 loss at home to Albania, with the result meaning England can now secure their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a well-taken shot in late added time.

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

Spain’s Group

Spain maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The result extended the title holders’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

Despite the unavailability of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their dominance against a Georgian team that passed the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the match with more than 80% of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after the Georgian keeper had denied Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Other Scores

• Turkey bounced back with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers.
• Italy boosted their prospects of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to Estonia, thanks to goals from a forward, another attacker, and a third scorer.

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

Italy missed out for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions missing out in the playoffs, and the feared backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points ahead of Israel. The Estonian squad remain in fourth place on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the tournament, with the second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would cement the runner-up position and, while they can still theoretically catch the group leaders on the table, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for the Italian squad.