João Neves is a team player, someone who puts the interests of the collective ahead of personal desires. Therefore, when asked about his goalscoring streak at PSG – on Sunday he scored the team’s winning goal, against Lyon, 3-2, and has scored a total of five goals this season – he said that he doesn’t think about scoring goals for the national team, but about helping Portugal win.
“I never put my goal or my assist ahead of myself, I always think in favor of the team. As long as we win and qualify, I’m always happy. Whether it’s a goal from me or not, I don’t care. I hope one day to score my first goal in the national team, be it now or later on. But we’ll see soon”, said this Monday, the midfielder, before the team’s first training session, at the Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, in preparation for the double qualifying round for the World2026.
This is also why he doesn’t think about being distinguished with individual awards, as he came in 19th place in the last edition of the Ballon d’Or. “The Ballon d’Or will always be welcome. It’s not a career objective, I think more about collective trophies”, replied João Neves, referring once again to the collective objectives and Portugal’s desired qualification for the 2026 World Cup: “We always look for victory. If we can qualify in the game with the Republic of Ireland, even better. It would be very good.”
The game is next Thursday, in Dublin, at 7:45 pm (RTP1).
Despite being 21 years old, the player, who has played 18 games for the national team, says that the secret to good integration among his elders is the way they have always made him feel good in the national team’s locker room: “Bruno Fernandes was a very important person for me in this journey with the national team. He made me integrate, he made me realize that there was no need to be nervous at the beginning and he told me to be myself.”
And that’s why, with each game with corners on his chest, João Neves feels less nervous. “I’ve been improving my arrival in the box, you can see it with the goals. But I know there’s always room for improvement in my game. I think one of the biggest aspects I was missing was arriving in the area, scoring goals, assisting. But it’s not something I focus on much. As long as the team wins, everything is fine with me“, reaffirmed the Portuguese international.
The PSG player also assured that he has completely overcome the physical problems he experienced this season and admitted that it was “very difficult” to miss Portugal’s last two games: “I feel in shape, I feel 100%. I’m here to contribute to the national team. I’m going to do my best and help the team in qualifying.”