“It was meant to be” - Rúben Neves after scoring his first goal for Portugal while wearing Diogo Jota’s number 21 shirt | OneFootball

Rúben Neves shows the tattoo of himself and former teammate Diogo Jota after scoring in the World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland, while wearing Jota’s No. 21 shirt. (Photo: Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)

It was not the most memorable match in Lisbon last night as Portugal struggled to break down an ultra-defensive Republic of Ireland outfit.

It needed a stoppage-time goal to earn the three points, and Rúben Neves could not have chosen a better time to score for the Seleção for the first time, in his 60th appearance for his country.

Portugal as a nation was rocked by the untimely death of Diogo Jota in the summer, and no footballer felt the tragedy more acutely than Rúben Neves, his great personal friend and long-time teammate at FC Porto, Wolves and for the national team.

The FPF, players, coaching staff and Diogo Jota’s family decided ahead of the World Qualifying campaign that Rúben Neves would inherit Jota’s number 21 shirt as a tribute to the player and to keep his memory at the forefront of Portugal’s quest to win their first World Cup.

In Portugal’s first home game since Jota’s passing, who else was it but Rúben Neves who proved the match winner.

“It was my first goal for the Seleção, and wearing this shirt… it was meant to be,” said Neves post-match.

“As a team we have inherited the desire and the passion of Diogo Jota. Today we played against a team in a low block and we had to do it like this. When we play against a team who play their striker at the top of their own box, it’s tough to break through.

“In the second half we had more patience with the ball, something the coach asked of us at the break. It was a game of one-way traffic and three important points for us.

“We want to clinch our qualification in the next game, again at home, and we’ll do everything to win.”

Portugal play Hungary at the same venue, the José Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, on Tuesday night where a victory will rubber-stamp their ticket to the 2026 World Cup.