João Neves shines: former Benfica star makes history with national team | OneFootball

João Neves is the fourth player of the national team to score three goals in his debut as a scorer. The Portuguese international enjoyed the spotlight in the thrashing against Armenia, where he stood out remarkably. As far as we know, the number 15 of the national team repeated a feat that hadn't happened for about 64 years.

According to the newspaper Record, the former star of 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 over six decades ago, in the 20th century.

Before João Neves - who reacted to the feat - there were three athletes who scored three goals in their debut as a scorer. The first record dates back to 1928, when Valdemar Mota, a footballer from Porto, 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 with Francisco Palmeiro. The right midfielder from Benfica scored a hat-trick in his absolute debut for Portugal, in the victory against Spain, 3-1. Four years later, in 1961, Iaúca also made his mark in history. The Belenenses striker scored three goals in 12 minutes in the thrashing of Luxembourg (6-0).

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

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