Late Strike from Rúben Neves Shocks Ireland After Caoimhín Kelleher Saves Ronaldo Penalty

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

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during added time to snatch a 1-0 triumph, several seasons after the star striker had scored twice at the death to overcome a resilient Irish side.

Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a well-earned draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling performance that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.

However, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their initial trio of qualifying group matches having yielded only a single draw. They need to defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any chance of claiming a qualifying spot.

Key Moments

• The Liverpool keeper seemed to have secured Ireland a point when he superbly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his outstretched foot after Francisco Trincão’s effort had hit an Irish defender’s arm.
• 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.

Additional Group Outcomes

Group F

Hungary boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their initial victory with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into the runner-up spot behind the group leaders in the standings. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the first half and a teammate made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

England’s Group

Serbia slipped to a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning England can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker scored the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all draw at home by the Andorran team. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team continued their dominant Group E run with a comfortable win over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched eleven strikes in three matches without conceding.

In spite of 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 spent most of the match defending deep. Spain controlled the encounter with more than 80% of the ball, and Georgia did not have a single attempt on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a rout.

The scorer broke the deadlock in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• The Turkish national team returned to winning ways with a 6-1 victory over Bulgaria to stay close to the group leaders in their section. The Spanish club’s Arda Güler was among the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least making the knockout stage with a comfortable win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We are aware of what we have to do.”

Italy missed out for the previous two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the playoffs, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six games. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of 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 second-placed sides going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would cement 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 likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.