Ahead of Portugal's match against Colombia, Neves spoke to reporters.

You mentioned something very touching in a recent interview with SIC about staying in contact with your close friend Diogo Jota. Has he promised you anything special about this World Cup? Can you share that with us?

No. I think first of all, it's always been his dream, and he really wanted to participate in the World Cup. My first World Cup was in Qatar, but unfortunately he suffered an injury. So for me, the most important thing is having him with us to participate in this World Cup. Because I know that competing in a tournament like this is one of the most important goals in his career.

What are your expectations for tomorrow's match? Roberto Martinez just said you've been preparing for this game for a long time. Regarding the weather, do you think Colombia's players will adapt better? Also, they have many fans here, almost like playing at home. Do you think these factors give them an advantage?

I hope not. We've been here for some time and have adapted to the climate and conditions in Miami. Many players in our squad are also familiar with this environment, like me. I play in Saudi Arabia and have adapted very well to this weather. So I don't think Colombia will have an additional advantage from these factors. We've prepared a lot to minimize that gap. We know our strength and will fight to win the match. I hope these factors won't affect us, just as they won't affect Colombia, because we all want to play a great match.

You've always been one of the players with the most caps for the national team, but you haven't played in this World Cup yet. How do you handle this situation within the team? How do you stay ready while watching from the bench?

Obviously, watching from the bench is more difficult, but we must always be ready to play when needed. I think the coach has said there's no such thing as substitute players in this national team. We all know we must be ready to help the team at any moment.

In tournaments like this, we've seen many examples over the past few years. Every player is important, and everyone will have their moment. We train every day for this reason. Players who don't get much playing time have been training very hard and doing excellently, just to be able to fulfill their role when needed.

I want to ask, do you agree with the coach's statement that finishing first or second in the group doesn't matter?

No, we're here, and our first priority is the three group matches. We know that in the later stages, it doesn't matter who we face, because first we have to get through the group. So we're only focused on that right now.

We know we're very close to achieving this objective. We want to win every match, and we will aim to win every match, because we're a team capable of doing this, and that's what we're focused on now. As for what will happen in tomorrow's match, we'll do everything we can to win, and then we'll look at the next opponent.

Are you aware that Portugal has many fans in Bangladesh? They support Cristiano Ronaldo, with millions of supporters. Do you know about this situation? Every time Portugal beats opponents like Uzbekistan, thousands of fans take to the streets to celebrate. How do you feel about this?

Thank you. He has fans all over the world, which is amazing for us. Because wherever we go, we feel like we're playing at home, and everyone wants us to win. For a national team, it's wonderful to feel such support.

You've won two UEFA Nations League titles with Portugal, so you know very well what a national team needs to do to win major tournaments. So what does this Portuguese team need to do to have a chance at winning the World Cup?

This is a very important tournament. We have to focus on each match, as I said before, one game at a time. First, we have to get through the group stage, which is our current focus. For tomorrow's match, we'll do everything we can to win, and then we'll consider the next opponent.

What risks do you think Portugal currently faces? What do you know about Colombia? How do you assess their performance in the first two matches? How much would it affect you if Portugal doesn't win and loses top spot in the group?

I can't answer that question because we don't consider losing; we only think about winning the match. We're focused on that. We know that Colombia is a very strong team, and we've watched their first two matches—they've performed very well. Now we're preparing for this match as best as we can, hoping to secure a victory.

We've seen you provide good structural stability for the team through long passes and ball distribution. But Colombia's defense, which includes Lucumí and Davinson Sánchez, has conceded only 1 goal and made 12 tackles. How do you plan to disrupt their rhythm and create space for the forwards?

That's exactly what we're doing. I think from the first match to the second, we've made a lot of progress in this area. We need to continue doing this—finding the right spaces, finding gaps between the lines, and creating opportunities for the forwards, because we have the quality to do this.

At the same time, we also need to create one-on-one situations. From the perspective of the midfielders, our job is to look for these opportunities and execute the right passes. That's also what we hope to do in this match.

How do you assess the two different performances Portugal has shown in this tournament? The first match seemed to disappoint fans at home, while the second match regained recognition. How do you personally experience this contrast within the team? Starting with the Colombia match, the intensity will increase further, which is also preparation for a more difficult knockout stage. What kind of Portugal do you think we'll see next?

In tournaments like this, every match is difficult. Fortunately, we're also seeing similar situations with other national teams. Obviously, we play every match to win, and we'll try to show our best form. We know that in the first match against Congo, we weren't at our best, so we had to adjust in the second match. The second match went very smoothly, and we also showed our usual level.

As you said, we need to keep improving in the match against Colombia, because I hope we still have many matches to play. If we can do a little better in each match than the previous one, we can go further.

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