Benfica academy star ends Portugal’s 64-year drought | OneFootball

For 64 years, Portugal had not seen a player achieve a hat-trick in his debut as a scorer. That ‘drought’ was broken yesterday afternoon, November 16, when João Neves netted his first goals for the national team, a feat that only three athletes had accomplished before him.

Thus, according to the newspaper Record, the former star from Benfica became the fourth footballer to score three or more goals in his first game as a scorer for the national team. The last time this happened was more than six decades ago, in the 20th century.

Before João Neves – who reacted to the achievement – there were three athletes who scored three goals in their debut as scorers. The first record dates back to 1928, when Valdemar Mota, a Porto player, helped the national team defeat Italy 4-2, scoring three of the team’s four goals.

Almost three decades later, in 1957, history repeated itself, this time thanks to Francisco Palmeiro. The Benfica right midfielder scored a hat-trick in his absolute debut for Portugal, in a 3-1 victory against Spain. Four years later, in 1961, Iaúca also made history. The Belenenses striker scored three goals in 12 minutes in the 6-0 thrashing of Luxembourg.

João Neves thus writes his name in the history of the national team. This season, the former Benfica midfielder – valued at 90 million euros – has so far played eight matches wearing the PSG shirt: six in Ligue 1 and two in the Champions League. In the 458 minutes he has spent on the pitch, the Portuguese international has netted five goals.

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