Rúben Neves got Portugal out of jail with an injury-time World Cup qualifying winner against the Republic of Ireland after Cristiano Ronaldo had seen his penalty saved by Caoimhín Kelleher. Neves headed home in stoppage time to snatch a 1-0 win, four years after Ronaldo had scored twice late on to see off a stubborn Ireland.
It was a poignant tribute to Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident in July and whose No 21 jersey Neves wore in Portugal’s first home game since the Liverpool player’s death.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men looked set to leave Lisbon with a hard-fought point but ultimately did so empty-handed, although having restored a good deal of pride with a battling display which erased some of the memories of last month’s embarrassing defeat in Armenia.
Defeat, however, leaves them staring down the barrel, with their first three Group F games having yielded a single point. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday if they are to have any hope of claiming a playoff place.
Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldo’s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincão’s shot had hit Dara O’Shea’s arm but Neves came to his side’s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincão’s cross past Kelleher.
“It’s a heartbreaking result,” said Hallgrímsson. “Sometimes we coaches try to look at performance when we lose games. I think what we planned to do, our gameplan, worked. There was a lot of energy put into this match. Just being so close and ending up with nothing is painful. Maybe you want to ask about tactical things and stuff, but this is how I feel after the game. It’s painful.”
Hungary boosted their hopes of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 victory over Armenia to climb above their opponents into second place behind Portugal. Daniel Lukacs gave Hungary the lead in the first half and Zsombor Gruber made sure of the points in second-half stoppage time.
Serbia slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to Albania, with the result meaning England would seal their qualification from Group K if they beat Latvia on Tuesday. Rey Manaj scored the only goal for Albania with a neat volley in first-half stoppage time. His side are now in second, four points ahead of Serbia but having played a game more.
Latvia struggles continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the visitors 12 minutes from time to earn them their first point of the qualifying campaign and extend Latvia’s winless run to five games. Andorra are the hosts on Tuesday in Serbia’s game in hand.
Spain continued their dominant Group E campaign with a 2-0 victory over Georgia after goals from Jéremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal in Elche. The win extended the European champions’ perfect run in qualifying, their having scored 11 goals in three matches without conceding.
Despite the absence of players such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Rodri due to injuries, Luis de la Fuente’s side showcased their superiority against a Georgia team that spent most of the match defending deep. Spain dominated the match with more than 80% possession and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity with only the goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili preventing a rout.
Pino opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a well-executed set-piece routine and Oyarzabal secured the win in the 64th minute with a stunning free kick after Liverpool’s Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torres’s penalty.
Real Madrid’s Arda Güler was among the scorers as Turkey returned to winning ways with a 6-1 thrashing over Bulgaria to keep some pressure on Spain, but the victors sit three points behind with a goal difference of zero.
Italy’s hopes of at least making the playoffs were given a boost with a 3-1 win away to Estonia thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui and Francesco Pio Esposito.
Italy failed to qualify for the last two World Cups, twice missing out in the playoffs, and the dreaded backdoor route now looks their most likely chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering of Israel in Group I. The Norwegians are top on 18 points from six games. Italy have 12 points with a game in hand on their rivals and are three points clear of Israel. Estonia remain fourth on three points. The group winners qualify directly for the World Cup with the runners-up going into the playoffs.
Italy host Israel on Tuesday where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still mathematically catch Norway on points, the Norwegians’ far superior goal difference means a playoff spot likely beckons for Gennaro Gattuso’s side.
Gattuso said: “We’re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.”