On Saturday, Portugal narrowly defeated their guests Ireland with a late goal from Rúben Neves, a player for Saudi club Al Hilal, bringing them one step closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The Portuguese team faced great difficulty at the “José Alvalade” stadium, home of Sporting Lisbon, despite threatening the Irish goal with 30 attacking attempts, including 6 shots on target. Irish goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher saved attempts from Cristiano Ronaldo, Vitinha, and Nuno Mendes.

Luck was not on the side of the legend Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of Saudi club Al Nassr, as one of his shots hit the post, and he missed a penalty in the 75th minute saved by the Irish goalkeeper.

Rúben Neves saved his country from stumbling at home by rising to meet a cross from Francisco Trincão and scoring the winning goal in the 91st minute.

Portugal raised their tally to nine points at the top of the group and needs to win against Hungary in the next round to secure official qualification for the World Cup.