Late Header from Rúben Neves Sinks Ireland After Caoimhín Kelleher Denies Cristiano Ronaldo Spot-Kick

The Portuguese midfielder saved the day for the Portuguese side with a injury-time winning goal in their World Cup match against Ireland, after Caoimhín Kelleher had saved a spot-kick from the veteran forward.

Game Summary

The Wolves midfielder nodded in during added time to secure a 1-0 victory, four years after the star striker had bagged a brace at the death to defeat a resilient Irish side.

The Irish squad looked set to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but ultimately suffered defeat, despite regaining 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 leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three qualifying group matches having yielded only a solitary point. They must defeat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any chance of securing a playoff place.

Key Incidents

• Kelleher looked to have secured Ireland a point when he brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s spot-kick with his trailing leg after a Portuguese player’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s hand.
• Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of added time when he directed a delivery from the wing past the Irish goalkeeper.

Additional Group Outcomes

Portugal’s Group

Hungary boosted their chances 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 Portugal in the standings. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the opening period and Zsombor Gruber secured the victory in late added time.

Group K

The Serbian national team suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning the Three Lions can now seal their passage from Group K by defeating Latvia on Tuesday. An Albanian striker netted the decisive strike for Albania with a well-taken shot in first-half stoppage time.

The Latvian side struggles in their group continued as they were forced to a 2-2 tie at home by Andorra. An Andorran player scored for the visitors late on from time to earn them their first point of the qualifiers and extend Latvia’s poor form to several matches.

Spain’s Group

The Spanish national team maintained their impressive qualifying group run with a comfortable victory over the Georgian side after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result extended the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, having scored 11 goals in three games without letting in a goal.

In spite of the absence of key figures such as Lamine Yamal, another forward, and Rodri due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their dominance against a Georgia team that spent the majority of the game defending deep. Spain dominated the match with more than 80% possession, and the visitors did not have one shot on target or create a clear chance, with only goalkeeper their keeper averting a rout.

The scorer opened the scoring in the first half from a well-executed set-piece move, and his compatriot wrapped up the victory in the second period with a stunning set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s spot-kick.

Additional Results

• The Turkish national team bounced back with a comprehensive victory over Bulgaria to stay close to Spain in their section. Real Madrid’s a young talent was one of the goal-getters.
• Italy improved their hopes of at least reaching the knockout stage with a 3-1 win away to the Estonian team, thanks to goals from Moise Kean, another attacker, and Francesco Pio Esposito.

Gennaro Gattuso commented: “We’re not thinking about Norway or our next opponents. We are aware of what we have to do.”

The Azzurri failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, on two occasions falling short in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary opportunity after Norway’s comprehensive win over the Israeli side in Group I. The Norwegians are top on eighteen points from six matches. The Italians have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are a trio of points clear of Israel. Estonia stay in fourth place on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the tournament, with the runners-up entering the qualifying stage.

Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a victory would secure the runner-up position and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on the table, the leaders’ much better goal difference means a qualifying place likely awaits for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.