"The game I'm most excited for is the first one": João Neves buzzing for the World Cup

Dozens of passersby gathered on Rua Garrett in Chiado early Monday afternoon, drawn by the presence of no fewer than nine (!) Portuguese internationals.

The recently crowned two-time European champions, Vitinha, João Neves, and Gonçalo Ramos—still likely recovering from their celebratory bash in Budapest that extended to Paris—along with Premier League assist king Bruno Fernandes, and also Rúben Dias, João Cancelo, Nélson Semedo, Gonçalo Guedes, and Rúben Neves, all graced the unveiling of the new boots they'll wear at the World Cup.

The event, co-hosted by Kika Nazareth, herself a European champion, saw the Barcelona player handle the microphone much like she does a football: orchestrating the play—in this case, distributing questions.

With the spotlight naturally on the freshly minted European champions, Gonçalo Ramos emphasized that every player's main objective at the World Cup is to "help the team," regardless of their role. "Everyone counts, everyone is important," he stressed.

Vitinha, meanwhile, expressed his hope that PSG's Portuguese contingent's recent triumph would "bring luck" to the national team at the World Cup, but he remained grounded. "There are much more experienced players than me, and I'll be leaning on them," he noted, despite acknowledging the "incredible" feat of winning the Champions League for the second consecutive season.

João Neves was… João Neves. As straightforward as the football he plays. When asked which World Cup match he was most looking forward to, he replied, "It will be my first World Cup, and I hope it's not my last, so the game I'm most excited for is the first one. We can start the competition on the right foot, and with our unity, strength, and individual and collective quality, I truly believe we can go far."

João Cancelo, having recovered from Barcelona's title celebrations, confessed to some Iberian banter with… Gavi. But without any bets involved. "We're always teasing each other; he says Spain is better, I say Portugal…" he quipped, aware of the dream shared by millions of Portuguese, a dream he also wants to help fulfill. "Winning a World Cup is the icing on the cake for any professional footballer," he admitted.

Bruno Fernandes, amidst his many assists, singled out the one he provided against Manchester City in the English League Cup final as the "most beautiful." But… there's always a 'but.' "But I hope the most beautiful one is yet to come and that it's at the World Cup," he confessed with a smile.

Like any ordinary person, Bruno Fernandes has already imagined himself playing in the World Cup final and… scoring. "It's always a special competition for all of us; we represent our country, it's one of the highlights of our careers. At the same time, the most important thing will be the unity we have, which is very strong and noticed by everyone. That's an extra point for our national team. The main goal will be to win the World Cup," he stated. "Playing against anyone, being in the final would be unprecedented and incredible; we've never achieved it, it would be the icing on the cake. Who we played against and what I dreamed of, that's for me... The most important thing is that I dreamed of us winning," he added.

Gonçalo Guedes, meanwhile, assured that he hasn't planned any celebrations if he finds the back of the net. But something will surely emerge… "If it happens, it will come out in the moment," he agreed, sharing the desire to "go far and reach the final."

Rúben Dias doesn't know how he'll celebrate if Portugal reaches the top of the world and acknowledges it's too early to anticipate such a thing. "I'm not even going to think about that yet… If it happens, we'll organize a great party, but I'll leave that for later."

The other Rúben, Neves, had no qualms about embracing Portugal's candidacy.

"We are certainly one of the contenders. We've been winning important things, and other national teams already see us as World Cup favorites, and we like to feel that from our side too. It's good pressure," he highlighted.

Beyond the opponents on the pitch, Nélson Semedo emphasized the need to be mindful of other adversities the national team will face in the United States.

"The most demanding part of this World Cup will be the temperature, which will be quite high, and also a lot of humidity. We need to prepare well, eat well, hydrate well, train when we need to train, and rest when we need to rest, which is very important," he concluded.