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The nervy win in Dublin moves the Republic of Ireland up to third in Group F, a point behind Hungary, who boosted their chances of securing a play-off place with a dramatic late draw against Portugal.

The group is delicately poised with two games remaining. If Hungary beat Armenia in their next game, the Republic of Ireland must earn at least a point to take the battle for second place into their trip to Budapest on 16 November.

The Republic of Ireland’s chances have twice been hit by late goals during this window, having conceded a 91st-minute Ruben Neves goal in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Portugal in Lisbon.

However, Azaz hopes the Irish players can build on that performance and Tuesday’s crucial win in their quest to upset Cristiano Ronaldo and co in Dublin on 13 November.

“We know it’s going to be tough, but we’ll take confidence from last week and this game and we’ll be confident we can do something special,” Azaz added.

“It’s going to be a big occasion, we saw the last game we can compete and they’re top players, but we have to be able to compete and no doubt we’ll be right up for it.”

Armenia boss Yegishe Melikyan said Barseghyan apologised to his team-mates after the game.

“Of course, the red card changed the game. It was a mistake,” said Melikyan.

“He took responsibility. He said sorry to the whole dressing room. But, if a player makes a mistake, it is also my mistake and for that I apologise.

“If there was no red card and we played 11 v 11, I think we could have got a good result. I thought we could have won, but we must go forward and I think we can get good results in the near future.”

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Although O’Neill resigned in April 2020 to take charge of Stoke, his absence lasted only 28 internationals and he returned to the post in December 2022.

The group to which he returned, however, was radically different to the one he left.

Injury ended the international careers of Steven Davis and Dallas earlier than expected, while the retirements of Jonny Evans and Craig Cathcart robbed the group of yet more experienced campaigners.

Leading such a young group presented a different challenge to his first spell, but the impact of O’Neill’s previous time in charge still counted in his favour.

“You saw the success that he had before and he’s a massive name back home,” said Liverpool’s Conor Bradley who has been given a leadership role in the team by O’Neill.

“He’s a special manager. He gives you confidence going into games, and it’s a big part of management to be able to do that, but tactically as well he’s top notch.”

Bingham gave O’Neill his international debut in February 1988 when he was still just 18-years-old and only four months after Newcastle United had signed him from Irish League side Coleraine.

With his new-look Northern Ireland side built around young talents like Bradley, Isaac Price, Shea Charles and Justin Devenny, O’Neill feels the belief shown in him as a teenager has proven instructive to his approach to international management.

“Billy put a lot of faith in me and maybe the fact that he put that faith in me has influenced me to put faith in young players as well,” he said.

One such player is Isaac Price who was given his international debut as a 19-year-old who had played just 13 senior minutes for Everton.

“He’s been perfect for me. He brought me in at a time he didn’t have to,” said Price, who later moved to Standard Liege and is now with West Brom.

“I was playing under-23s football at Everton and he saw something in me he thought he could use and develop.”

Price became the youngest player to score 10 times for Northern Ireland when he netted against Germany in the 3-1 defeat last month.

The 22-year-old had missed a penalty against Luxembourg three days prior to scoring in Cologne and credits a brief exchange with O’Neill as vital in quickly moving on from his poor performance.

“You’ve missed a penalty, didn’t play very well, and it’s a bit of a low point. You feel like everything’s coming down and then you’re going to play Germany,” he added.

“The night before the game Michael comes over to me and just says ‘forget about what happened the other night, you’ll go out and do something’ and then it happens.

“That’s his experience. Michael has been around football so long, he’d have seen it with so many players. He just managed me really well.”

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While he was content with their defensive efforts, Hallgrimsson was left to rue the Republic of Ireland’s inability to threaten Portugal at the other end.

The Icelandic boss maintains, however, the positives in Lisbon outweighed the negatives as his side restored some pride following their humbling in Yerevan last month.

“We felt of course [we deserved a point] because we spent a lot of energy,” he added.

“They had more chances than we did, but we had our openings and if we were cleverer on the ball, but when you waste energy defending, the decision-making when you get the chance is not perfect.

“We should be proud, not happy, but there are a lot of good things to take from it. It was a team performance; everyone did their job. There were no passengers in this game.”

Republic of Ireland are still bottom of Group F with one point after three games and now face a must-win game against Armenia at home on Tuesday to keep their slim hopes of reaching next year’s tournament in North America alive through a play-off spot.

Hallgrimsson hoped the diligent display will give them a boost to their belief.

“Confidence is a tricky thing, you never know what gives you confidence or takes away your confidence,” he said. “We should at least be happy with the team performance.

“I’m just wary of what lies ahead of us in that [Armenia] game so now we need to shift focus and try to leave this in Portugal and be ready come Tuesday.”

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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 Portugalâ€s first home game since the Liverpool playerâ€s death.

Heimir Hallgrímssonâ€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 monthâ€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.

Caoimhín Kelleher saves Cristiano Ronaldoâ€s penalty at the Estádio José Alvalade. Photograph: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile/Getty Images

Kelleher looked to have earned Ireland a point when he brilliantly kept out Ronaldoâ€s penalty with his trailing leg after Francisco Trincãoâ€s shot had hit Dara Oâ€Sheaâ€s arm but Neves came to his sideâ€s rescue in the first minute of stoppage time when he headed Trincãoâ€s cross past Kelleher.

“Itâ€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. Itâ€s painful.â€

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.

Rey Manaj scored in first-half stoppage time to earn Albania victory against Serbia. Photograph: Andrej Čukić/EPA

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 Latviaâ€s winless run to five games. Andorra are the hosts on Tuesday in Serbiaâ€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 Fuenteâ€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 Liverpoolâ€s Mamardashvili had saved Ferran Torresâ€s penalty.

Real Madridâ€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.

Italyâ€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.

Moise Kean scores Italyâ€s first goal against Estonia. Photograph: Claudio Villa/FIGC/Getty Images

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 Norwayâ€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 Gattusoâ€s side.

Gattuso said: “Weâ€re not thinking about Norway or Israel. We know what we have to do.â€

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Trai Humeâ€s first Northern Ireland goal helped them to a 2-0 win over Slovakia to keep their World Cup qualifying campaign on track. Patrik Hrosovskyâ€s 18th-minute own goal rewarded Northern Ireland for a strong start but, after wasting two outstanding chances to double their lead either side of the break, they endured some nervy moments before Hume lifted the ball over the stranded Martin Dubravka with 10 minutes to go.

“The keeper has come to clear it, and I just had to guide it towards the goal and thankfully I did,†Hume told BBC Northern Ireland. “It was a great night, good performance and the most important thing is the three points. I think we deserved it.â€

The victory was reward for a strong performance, particularly in the first half, but the man at heart of it, captain Conor Bradley, picked up a cheap late yellow card that rules him out of Mondayâ€s visit of Germany.

Bradley had looked like a man on a mission from the start as Northern Ireland played with energy and desire and it was the Liverpool man who sparked the move for the opening goal. He picked out Ethan Galbraith in space inside the box, and the Swansea midfielder pulled back a low cross which the hapless Hrosovsky turned into his own net.

The second came on 80 minutes when Dubravka, unconvincing in commanding his area for much of the night, punched the ball weakly and it landed for Hume to lift it back over him and into an unguarded net.

Michael Oâ€Neill had refused to call this a must-win, but the reality was they needed all three points to keep pace in European Group A, in which Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Germany now all have six points from three games.

Joshua Kimmich netted twice to power Germany to a 4-0 home win over Luxembourg after the visitors went down to 10 men in the first half. The opening two goals came from dead-ball situations. David Raum curled in a free kick after 12 minutes and Kimmich converted a penalty nine minutes later after Luxembourgâ€s Dirk Carlson was sent off for handball in the area.

Joshua Kimmich scores from the spot in Germanyâ€s 4-0 victory. Photograph: Michael Probst/AP

Serge Gnabry scored the third three minutes after the break and Kimmich got his double two minutes later. The win puts the Germans top of Group A on goal difference.

North Macedonia put on a defensive masterclass to hold Belgium to a 0-0 draw away and keep a one-point lead in Group J, which also includes Wales.

The visitors kept out everything Belgium could throw at them in a near 90-minute siege. Belgium attacked almost from the start, with Jérémy Doku continually trying to open up the defence from the left flank and Kevin De Bruyne probing from the edge of the area. But their efforts were thwarted by a committed defence and when it was breached, goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski came up with some key saves.

North Macedonia lead Group J with 12 points from six games, one ahead of Belgium and two ahead of Wales. Belgium and Wales, who face each other on Monday, both have a game in hand over North Macedonia.

Kylian Mbappé was the saviour as France closed in on qualification with a lacklustre 3-0 home win over Azerbaijan in Group D. The Real Madrid forward opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time and set up Adrien Rabiot for the second, with substitute Florian Thauvin adding the third to put Les Bleus on nine points from three games and give Didier Deschamps†side a chance to secure qualification on Monday when they travel to Iceland.

Kylian Mbappé celebrates opening the scoring for France against Azerbaijan. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

“We got the result we wanted but not the performance – especially in the first half,†said Deschamps. “Our ball circulation was too slow, it was all a bit too flat. I canâ€t stop players from thinking the goal will come eventually, but we didnâ€t do enough to unsettle them.â€

Ukraine scored twice in the last five minutes through Ivan Kalyuzhnyi and Oleh Ocheretko to beat Iceland 5-3 in an extraordinary game in Reykjavik. Iceland had fought back from 3-1 down to level things before Ukraineâ€s late strikes. The win moves Ukraine into second place in Group D. Azerbaijan, who next play Ukraine, remain bottom of the table with one point.

Switzerland captain, Granit Xhaka, scored from the spot as his side beat Sweden 2-0 in their Group B clash, leaving the Swedes†hopes of qualifying for next yearâ€s finals hanging by a thread after another dismal display.

Switzerland top the group with a perfect nine points from their opening three games, with Kosovo second on four points and Slovenia third on two after they played out a scoreless draw in Pristina. Sweden, who started with their star strikers Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres up front, are bottom with a point.

Isak struck the foot of the post for the hosts in the 26th minute before teeing up Lucas Bergvall for their best chance of the game, but the 19-year-old somehow managed to get the ball caught under his feet with the goal at his mercy. That miss proved costly when Switzeland took the lead in the 65th minute after Alexander Bernhardsson sent Djibril Sow sprawling in the box with a push in the back. Xhaka blasted the resulting penalty straight down the middle.

A frustrating night for Sweden was finished off when Swiss substitute Johan Manzabiâ€s tame effort was deflected past keeper Viktor Johansson in second-half stoppage time, condemning them to a second defeat in three games that leaves their qualifying chances in tatters.

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O’Neill believes the win, which stretches Northern Ireland’s unbeaten streak at home to seven games, shows the maturity of his young side and how good they can be.

“I think they understand now the levels they can get to, there is still more to go with this group of players,” he added.

“Tonight, we showed what we can be like at home, we have shown this before if you look back to the Bulgaria game, but we played a better team tonight and we showed it against a very good team.”

Reluctant to single out players given so many performed well, O’Neill did praise captain on the night Bradley for being the catalyst, particularly down the right side.

“From the word ‘go’ he was magnificent, his energy, him and Ethan [Galbraith] on were terrific on that side with their link-up and quality,” O’Neill said.

“We have so many good young players who love playing together. It is difficult to pick one player, Conor does stand out because he does so many good things, it was good for him to captain the team on a night like this.”

The only dampener on a positive night for NI was that 22-year-old Liverpool full-back Bradley picked up the yellow card for a foul that will rule him out of the crucial meeting with Germany in Belfast on Monday.

O’Neill was frustrated by the decision. When asked how harsh he felt the yellow card was – Bradley’s second in three qualifiers – O’Neill said it was “extremely” so.

“I have watched it back and he tries to pull out,” O’Neill said.

“The referee, at times, it was good he didn’t want to hand out yellow cards, but if he was going to give a yellow for that he should have dished out more. Especially for the opposition.”

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Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III had to be taken to a Dublin-area hospital after suffering a shoulder injury during Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters after his team’s 24-21 win that Austin was being evaluated at a hospital.

Per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Austin was loaded into an ambulance with his arm in a sling after leaving the game in the fourth quarter.

The injury occurred when Austin was tackled by Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy after an eight-yard reception. He finished with two catches for 13 yards.

Austin’s injury left an already-thin Steelers receiving corps scrambling. DK Metcalf made up for the lack of depth with his best game of the season, finishing with 126 yards and a touchdown on five catches.

Pittsburgh’s depth chart behind Metcalf and Austin includes Roman Wilson, Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek. The two leading receivers after Metcalf on Sunday were running back Kenneth Gainwell (35 yards) and tight end Darnell Washington (20 yards).

Entering Week 4, the Steelers’ leading receiver was running back Jaylen Warren with 142 yards. Metcalf and Austin were the only other pass-catchers on the team with at least 100 yards.

Austin is in his fourth NFL season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. He missed his entire rookie campaign due to a foot injury and played limited snaps in 2023.

Last season saw Austin become more of a focal point in the offense. He racked up 548 yards and four touchdowns on 36 catches in 17 games (eight starts).

Austin was averaging a career-high 15.8 yards per reception through the first three weeks of this season.

If Austin’s injury requires him to miss any time, the Steelers would likely turn to Miller and Skowronek as a short-term option as their No. 2 receiver. They could also explore free agency or the trade market for depth.

The Steelers do have time to figure out their situation since they are on a bye in Week 5 before returning to play the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 12.

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In what was his sixth international outing across all formats, Cox’s maiden half-century easily surpassed his previous best of 17 in an England jersey.

After leading The Hundred in runs scored and being named Most Valuable Player as he helped the Oval Invincibles to a third consecutive title last month, he said he had looked to bring some of that confidence to his international return.

“It’s only a ball coming down, don’t worry about it. Whoever is bowling it, just have a bit of fun and show what you can do. That’s what I tried to do.

“I seemed to do well in that Oval shirt so I just was like ‘come on, this is just franchise cricket and I’m playing for the Oval, just enjoy it and have a bit of fun’.

“That’s what I do when I’m there so why not try and do it everywhere?”

Cox said he has “really struggled” with missing out on a Test bow against New Zealand last winter.

In his absence, 21-year-old Jacob Bethell made his Test debut on the tour and now seems sure to be a part of the squad that will be named this week for this winter’s Ashes series in Australia.

Cox added: “To have the opportunity to play for your country in Test cricket is something that I always dreamt of doing, and am still dreaming about doing, so to get that taken away was really hard.

“My friends and family, the people closest to me, said it would have happened for a reason. If that means I wasn’t quite ready to play Test cricket yet, that was someone telling me I wasn’t ready.

“There’s a reason why I didn’t play; there was a reason why Bethell did and why he did so well. But I really struggled with it.”

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Before Salt quickly eradicated any doubt over Wednesday’s result, Ireland would have felt their 196 in the series opener represented a competitive total.

However, after England’s stand-in skipper Jacob Bethell again won the toss and put the hosts into bat, Sunday’s innings was a much more laboured affair.

With the heavy rain overnight ensuring a slower wicket, conditions were always going to make things more challenging with the bat.

But the variation and discipline of England’s bowling played its part too, with their spinners taking six of the eight wickets.

While opener Ross Adair produced 33 from 23 deliveries, before falling to the bowling of Rehan Ahmad in the first over after the powerplay, Ireland’s top order struggled to score at a rate of better than a run per ball.

It took an 123-run partnership from Loran Tucker and Harry Tector to settle things on Wednesday but Ireland were never able to find their rhythm in this series finale.

Only against Baker, whose first two overs brought 24 runs, could they accelerate their run-rate.

It took the arrival of Gareth Delany, who led the way with an unbeaten 48 off 29 deliveries from number, to improve matters – but even on the slower pitch, 155 never felt a total likely to be defended.

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Fast bowler Sonny Baker says his chastening England debut will hopefully make him a better player in the long run.Baker…