Bruno Fernandes and João Neves shine in Portugal rout | OneFootball

The Portugal national team secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup in grand style. The Portuguese side steamrolled Armenia on Sunday with a 9-1 victory, highlighted by a show from the duo Bruno Fernandes and João Neves – together they scored 6 goals, 3 each.

Bruno Fernandes stood out in orchestrating the team’s offensive actions, keeping the game’s tempo high throughout the match. In addition to his hat-trick, he delivered eight key passes and created one big chance, making great use of the flanks with 10 crosses, 7 accurate.

With the ball at his feet, he was intensely involved: he had 92 actions, with 56 accurate passes out of 66 attempted (85%), 39 successful passes in the attacking third, and 5 accurate long balls out of 7 attempted, demonstrating precision and leadership in build-up play. He also contributed off the ball, with 6 recoveries, 2 tackles, and 1 interception, winning 4 out of 7 ground duels and 1 aerial duel, in a complete and dominant performance.

A Worthy Teammate

Alongside him, João Neves also shone and consolidated control of the Portuguese midfield. The midfielder scored three goals, was frequently present in the box, and excelled in passing exchanges, with 60 accurate passes out of 69 attempts (87%), including 37/44 (84%) in the opposition half and 23/25 (92%) in the defensive half.

He also showed quality in direct play, with 2 accurate long passes out of 2 attempted, and took six shots, hitting three on target. Off the ball, he had a solid performance: recording 7 recoveries, 2 tackles (1 won), 1 interception, and winning 2 out of 4 ground duels and all 3 aerial duels.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.