Rúben Neves saved the day for Portugal with a last-gasp decisive strike in their World Cup clash against the Republic of Ireland, following the Irish goalkeeper had saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neves found the net during stoppage time to snatch a narrow victory, several seasons after the star striker had bagged a brace late on to overcome a stubborn Irish side.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men appeared poised to depart the Portuguese capital with a hard-fought draw, but in the end suffered defeat, despite restoring a good deal of honor with a gritty display that overshadowed some of the recollections of last month’s disappointing loss in Armenia.
Nevertheless, the loss puts them facing elimination, with their first three qualifying group games having yielded only a solitary draw. They must beat Armenia in Dublin on Tuesday to keep alive any hope of claiming a playoff spot.
The Hungarian team boosted their chances of qualifying by picking up their first win with a 2-0 triumph over the Armenian side, climbing above their opponents into second place behind the group leaders in Group F. A Hungarian forward gave his team the lead in the first half and a teammate secured the victory in late added time.
The Serbian national team suffered a narrow defeat at home to the Albanian squad, with the outcome meaning the Three Lions can now seal their qualification 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 added time.
The Latvian side struggles in Group K persisted as they were forced to a two-all tie at home by Andorra. Ian Olivera scored for the away side late on from time to earn them their initial draw of the qualifying campaign and prolong Latvia’s poor form to five games.
The Spanish national team maintained their dominant Group E campaign with a comfortable victory over Georgia after strikes from Jéremy Pino and his teammate in Elche. The result continued the European champions’ perfect run in the qualifiers, having scored eleven strikes in three matches without letting in a goal.
In spite of the unavailability of players such as a talented winger, Nico Williams, and the midfield anchor due to injuries, the Spanish squad demonstrated their superiority against a Georgian team that spent most of the match sitting back. Spain controlled the match with over eighty percent of the ball, and Georgia did not have one shot on target or create a scoring opportunity, with only shot-stopper their keeper averting a heavy defeat.
The scorer opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a expertly taken dead-ball move, and Oyarzabal wrapped up the victory in the 64th minute with a spectacular set-piece after Mamardashvili had saved a Spanish player’s penalty.
The Italian coach commented: “We’re not thinking about the group leaders or our next opponents. We know what we have to do.”
Italy missed out for the previous two World Cups, on two occasions missing out in the qualifying rounds, and the feared playoff path now looks their primary chance after Norway’s 5-0 hammering over Israel in their qualifying group. Norway are leading on 18 points from six games. The Italians have twelve points with a match less played on their rivals and are a trio of points ahead of their next opponents. Estonia stay fourth on three points. The top teams qualify directly for the World Cup, with the second-placed sides going into the playoffs.
Italy host their rivals on Tuesday, where a win would cement second spot and, while they can still theoretically overtake the group leaders on the table, the leaders’ much better goal ratio means a qualifying place probably beckons for the Italian squad.
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