Injury-Time Goal from Neves Sinks Ireland Following Kelleher Saves Cristiano Ronaldo Spot-Kick

The Portuguese midfielder came to the rescue for Portugal with a injury-time winner in their World Cup qualifying match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had kept out a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Match Summary

The Wolves midfielder found the net during stoppage time to snatch a narrow victory, four years after Ronaldo had bagged a brace late on to defeat a resilient Ireland team.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end left empty-handed, despite regaining a significant amount of pride with a battling display that overshadowed some of the memories of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.

Nevertheless, the defeat puts them facing elimination, with their first three Group F matches having produced only a single draw. They need to beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to maintain any hope of securing a playoff spot.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a draw when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• The match-winner saved Portugal in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.

Other Group Outcomes

Group F

The Hungarian team boosted their hopes of advancing by securing their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia, moving above their rivals into second place behind Portugal in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in late stoppage time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 loss at home to the Albanian squad, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the only goal for Albania with a neat shot in late added time.

The Latvian side difficulties in Group K continued as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by the Andorran team. An Andorran player scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s poor form to five games.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive qualifying group campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from a Spanish attacker and Mikel Oyarzabal in the match venue. The win continued the title holders’ perfect record in the qualifiers, having notched 11 goals in three games without conceding.

Despite the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to fitness issues, Luis de la Fuente’s side demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent the majority of the game sitting back. The home side controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and the visitors did not have a single attempt on target or generate a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper Giorgi Mamardashvili averting a heavy defeat.

The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine, and his compatriot wrapped up the win in the second period with a stunning free kick after Mamardashvili had denied a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Scores

• Turkey returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory over the Bulgarian side to keep the pressure on the group leaders in their section. Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was one of the scorers.
• The Italian squad boosted their hopes of at least reaching the qualifying playoffs with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to strikes from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso said: “Our focus isn’t on Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two global tournaments, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the dreaded backdoor route now appears their most likely opportunity after the Norwegian team’s 5-0 hammering over the Israeli side in Group I. Norway are leading on 18 points from six matches. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their competitors and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. The Estonian squad remain fourth on three points. The top teams advance automatically for the World Cup, with the runners-up going into the qualifying stage.

Italy face Israel on Tuesday, where a win would secure second spot and, while they can still mathematically overtake Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal ratio means a playoff spot likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.