Express & Star

Ruben Neves unscathed in Portugal qualifier ahead of Saudi Arabia move

Wolves star Ruben Neves came through Portugal’s win over Iceland unscathed ahead of his imminent move to Saudi Arabia.

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The midfielder started the Euro 2024 qualifier on Tuesday night and played 67 minutes, before Cristiano Ronaldo’s late goal secured a 1-0 win.

Neves seemed to come through the fixture in one piece, ahead of a £47million move to Al Hilal this week. Nelson Semedo, Jose Sa and Toti Gomes did not feature, meaning the latter pair are still waiting for their senior debuts.

Meanwhile, Hwang Hee-chan bagged an assist as South Korea drew 1-1 with El Salvador in a friendly clash.

The forward played in Hwang Ui-Jo in the 49th minute to put his team ahead. The Wolves man was then replaced 20 minutes later by Heung-min Son.

On Monday, Nathan Collins played the first half of Ireland’s 3-0 win over Gibraltar and on Tuesday night he was awarded the FAI’s men’s Player of the Year award.

Villa captain John McGinn helped Scotland on their march towards Euro 2024 with a 2-0 win over Georgia. He was subbed off in injury time at Hampden Park, as Scotland’s win saw them remain top of Group A with a fourth consecutive victory.

The game was stopped after seven minutes due to a waterlogged pitch but play resumed after a lengthy delay, and a goal in each half saw them pick up the win at home. Meanwhile, Robin Olsen’s Sweden lost 2-0 to Austria in their Euro qualifier.

Christoph Baumgartner beat Olsen twice in the final 10 minutes to leave Sweden third in Group F.

New signing Youri Tielemans played 90 minutes as Belgium beat Estonia 3-0 to go four points clear of Sweden in their group.

Leander Dendoncker was an unused substitute for the clash.

Walsall left-back Liam Gordon scored an own goal in Guyana’s 2-0 defeat against Guadeloupe as his nation failed to qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Guyana had reached the second round of qualifiers after defeating Grenada on penalties on Sunday, but were unable to reach the finals for only the second time in their history. Play was paused after thunder and lightning graced the skies of Florida.

Once the game resumed, Elliot Bonds’ attempted clearance deflected into the bottom corner off an unfortunate Gordon. Andrew Gravillon extended Guadeloupe’s advantage just before the hour-mark with a sensational free-kick into the top corner from distance.