Minus Joao Neves, Portugal's midfield IQ raised by Vitinha 

After a year in which PSG conquered Europe and Portugal’s midfield became their blueprint, Vitinha stands at the heart of both success stories — the metronome driving club and country forward as Ireland prepare to face his masterclass in Lisbon.

Portugal's midfield linchpin Vitinha. Pic: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

This has been a historic year for PSG. Their 5-0 win over Inter back in May saw the Parisian powerhouse claim their first ever major European championship as they dismantled the Italian giants with ease. Unsurprisingly, Ousmane Dembele won the Ballon d’Or, while Luis Enrique was named Men’s Coach of the Year last month. That both claimed their respective awards on the night they lost Le Classique to fierce rivals Marseille won’t have put a dampener on the evening’s events.

You’d be hard pressed to find any who would argue that PSG have been head and shoulders above the rest at club level over the past 12 months. However, while Dembele was a worthy recipient of football’s highest individual honour, Lamine Yamal’s father aside, PSG’s success won’t have been made possible were it not for the exploits of those in support of their rampant frontline.

Dembele and Yamal deserved the Ballon d’Or and Kopa Trophy, respectively, but it’s those who finished third for both accolades that were influential in PSG’s domestic and continental success. Alongside Spaniard Fabian Ruiz, Portuguese pair Vitinha and Joao Neves have forged quite the understanding at club level. Indeed, the former ranked top for passes (1382) and latter for tackles (57) in the 2024/25 Champions League season, acting as vital cogs in the PSG engine room.

And Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has sought to replicate that club level understanding on the international stage. Vitinha and Neves have started both World Cup 2026 qualifiers, respective wins over Armenia and Hungary, in Martinez’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.

The use of the pair at the base of the midfield allows for the attacking stars in the Selecao setup to wreak havoc in the final third. Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Pedro Neto and, crucially, captain Cristiano Ronaldo are able to prioritise their attacking duties, safe in the knowledge they have their safety net in front of the defence that is able to both win the ball back and dominate in a key area.

That said, Martinez will be without a vital midfield player for Saturday’s meeting with Republic of Ireland. Heimir Hallgrímsson's men have made a sub-par start to World Cup qualifying, picking up one point from the opening two games, claiming a commendable draw with 10-man Hungary before falling to a narrow loss to Armenia last month. The pressure is on the head coach to turn the nation’s fortunes around but they face undoubtedly their toughest qualification test on Saturday.

Neves’ unavailability could arguably provide some hope for the under-fire Icelander, though even that is clutching at straws. Portugal have the strength in depth to cover the absence of Joao Neves, with namesake Ruben and Joao Palhinha both options for Martinez. With Vitinha also at full strength and flying for both club and country, Ireland’s chances of a positive result in Lisbon this weekend is slim, and that’s being generous.

Vitinha fully deserved his podium finish at the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony, with some of the opinion that the midfielder had a legitimate shout for winning the award. It’s a far cry from the player who struggled for game time during a well-referenced Wolves stint in 2020/21 with the 25-year-old widely considered one of the best central midfielders in the game at present.

While Neves would nominally bring the steel to the national team setup, Vitinha is the tempo-setter in the middle of the park. That he has only misplaced two of 194 attempted passes in Portugal's two World Cup qualifiers to date reinforces the idea that Vitinha is the conductor of Martinez’s selection and is a core reason behind their 69.9% possession average, the third most of European qualification games at the time of writing.

Ireland may not have sat back in their two games to date, evident in a 57.6% possession haul, but Saturday’s game is one where they can be expected to see very little of the ball, meaning Hallgrímsson needs to set his men up to operate on the back foot with the hope of hitting Portugal on the counter attack. Even so, this potential approach is unlikely to deter Portugal and Vitinha. If anything, it’s par for the course both country and player.

Club side PSG often face down teams that are looking to soak up pressure, and so the Ligue 1 champions are faced with the weekly task of prying open deep-sitting defences. Enrique’s side boast the second highest possession average (70.9%) in Europe’s top five leagues this season yet the personnel are more than capable of forcing their way through stubborn backlines.

A large part of this is not only the driving wide men routinely getting the better of their markers, but the creative influence of Vitinha from deep, too. Vitinha recycles possession to such a high standard to leave opponents exhausted, yet also ranks 25th for open play key passes (36) and fifth for accurate through balls (8) since the start of the 2024/25 Ligue 1 season. He waits, and waits, and waits for the perfect time to strike, and this patience on the ball is what makes the PSG star such a vital weapon for both club and country.

With Josh Cullen and Will Smallbone expected to start in the middle of the park in Portugal’s capital city on Saturday, the midfield duo face a daunting 90 minutes. It could be one chasing shadows should Vitinha play to the standards expected of the Portuguese pass-master. Even without his partner in crime alongside him at the base of Martinez’s midfield, this should be a relative walk in the park for Vitinha at the Jose Alvalade Stadium this weekend.