João Virgínia

João Manuel Neves Virgínia (born 10 October 1999) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Everton.

João Virgínia

Personal information
Full name	João Manuel Neves Virgínia[1]
Date of birth	(1999-10-10) 10 October 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Faro, Portugal
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Everton
Number	12
Youth career
2011–2015	Benfica
2015–2018	Arsenal
2018–2019	Everton
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–	Everton	1	(0)
2019–2020	→ Reading (loan)	2	(0)
2021–2022	→ Sporting CP (loan)	1	(0)
2022–2023	→ Cambuur (loan)	17	(0)
International career
2015	Portugal U16	3	(0)
2015–2016	Portugal U17	3	(0)
2017	Portugal U18	3	(0)
2017–2018	Portugal U19	9	(0)
2017–2019	Portugal U20	9	(0)
2018–2021	Portugal U21	2	(0)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Portugal UEFA European Under-21 Championship Runner-up 2021
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:07, 21 January 2023 (UTC)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Neves and the second or paternal family name is Virgínia.

Club career

Born in Faro on the Algarve, Virgínia began his youth career at S.L. Benfica. In August 2015, he agreed a transfer to Arsenal amidst interest from Manchester United, effective from his 16th birthday in October.^[3] In August 2018, he signed a three-year deal at Everton.^[4]

On 11 July 2019, Virgínia joined Reading on a season-long loan deal.^[5] Everton recalled him early due to a lack of playing time, on 5 January 2020.^[6]

Virgínia played his first professional game for Everton on 16 September 2020, in a 3–0 home win in the EFL Cup match against League Two side Salford City.^[7] Days later, he extended his contract to June 2024.^[8] On 13 March 2021, he made his Premier League debut as a substitute for the injured Jordan Pickford in a 1–2 home defeat to Burnley.^[9] Eight days later, he made his FA Cup debut, starting in a 0–2 quarter-final defeat to Manchester City at Goodison Park.^[10]

On 25 August 2021, Virgínia returned to Lisbon, joining Sporting CP on a season-long loan.^[11] Kept aside in the Primeira Liga by Antonio Adán, he made his debut on 15 October in the third round of the Taça de Portugal in a 4–0 win at C.F. Os Belenenses.^[12] He made his European debut on 7 December in the final game of the UEFA Champions League group stage, a 4–2 loss at AFC Ajax that saw both teams through to the last 16.^[13] His sole league appearance was on the final day, playing the first 79 minutes of a 4–0 final day win over C.D. Santa Clara at the Estádio José Alvalade before being replaced by André Paulo; Sporting declined the option to make his transfer permanent for €5 million.^[14]

On 8 July 2022, Virgínia joined SC Cambuur of the Dutch Eredivisie on a season-long loan.^[15] He made his debut on 6 August as the season began with a 2–0 loss at home to newly promoted Excelsior Rotterdam.^[16] He was sent off on 11 January 2023 in the second round of the KNVB Cup, a 1–0 loss at amateur Tweede Divisie team De Treffers; defender Doke Schmidt ended the game in goal as no substitutions remained. The card was rescinded, the third time in four occasions that one given by referee Joey Kooij was overturned.^[17]

International career

Across all age groups, Virgínia earned 29 caps for Portugal at youth level, starting with a 1–0 win for the under-16s over the Netherlands in Vila Real de Santo António on 14 February 2015. On 12 November 2016, having just turned 17, he made his under-20 debut in a 1–1 friendly draw with Morocco in Rabat.^[18]

Virgínia represented the under-19 team that won the 2018 UEFA European Championship in Finland, defeating Italy 4–3 in the final.^[19] He also played in a group-stage elimination for the under-20 team in Poland at the 2019 FIFA World Cup.^[20]

Honours

Everton U23s

• Premier League Cup: 2018–19^[21]

Sporting CP

• Taça da Liga: 2021–22^[22]

Individual

• Eredivisie Team of the Month: November 2022,^[23]

Career statistics

As of match played 17 September 2024^[24]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Everton U23	2018–19[25]	—			—		—		1[c]	0	1	0
Everton	2019–20	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21	Premier League	1	0	1	0	1	0	—		3	0
	2023–24	Premier League	0	0	3	0	0	0	—		3	0
	2024–25	Premier League	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	Total		1	0	4	0	2	0	—		7	0
Reading (loan)	2019–20	Championship	2	0	0	0	1	0	—		3	0
Sporting CP (loan)	2021–22	Primeira Liga	1	0	4	0	2	0	1[d]	0	8	0
Cambuur (loan)	2022–23	Eredivisie	17	0	1	0	—		—		18	0
Career total			21	0	9	0	5	0	2	0	37	0

1. Includes FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, KNVB Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup, Taça da Liga
3. Appearance in EFL Trophy
4. Appearance in UEFA Champions League

References

1. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: Portugal" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
2. "João Virgínia". Premier League. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
3. Sanderson, Jamie (6 August 2015). "Joao Virginia 'arrives in England ahead of completing Arsenal transfer'". Metro. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
4. "Everton sign Joao Virginia from Arsenal on a three-year deal". Sky Sports. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
5. "João Virgínia signs for Royals on season-long loan". Reading F.C. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
6. "João Virgínia signs for Royals on season-long loan". Reading F.C. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
7. "Everton 3-0 Salford City: Keane, Sigurdsson and Kean score in Carabao Cup". BBC Sport. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
8. Mallows, Tom (22 September 2020). "Everton youngster signs new long-term contract". SB Nation. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
9. Poole, Harry (13 March 2021). "Everton 1-2 Burnley: Dwight McNeil hits stunning winner for visitors". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
10. Magowan, Alistair (20 March 2021). "Everton 1-2 Man City: Ilkay Gundogan & De Bruyne goals keep quadruple hopes alive". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
11. "João Virgínia joins Sporting CP on loan". Sporting CP. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
12. "João Virgínia: "Muito feliz e honrado pela minha estreia"" [João Virgínia: "I'm very happy and honoured by my debut"]. Record (in Portuguese). 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
13. Prata, Pedro (8 December 2021). "Bom aluno: João Virgínia tem passado nos testes e é garantia de futuro" [Good student: João Virgínia passes the tests and is a bet for the future]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 February 2022.
14. Almeida Gonçalves, Vítor (27 May 2022). "João Virgínia de saída do Sporting: "Não joguei tanto como queria"" [João Virgínia leaving Sporting: "I didn't play as much as I wanted to"]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 26 January 2023.
15. Jones, Adam (8 July 2022). "Everton goalkeeper confirms another loan with Eredivisie switch". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
16. "Excelsior bij terugkeer in Eredivisie te sterk voor Cambuur" [Excelsior too strong for Cambuur on return to Eredivisie]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 6 August 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
17. "Cambuur krijgt goed nieuws van KNVB: opmerkelijke rol scheidsrechter Kooij" [Cambuur receives good news from the KNVB: remarkable role of referee Kooij] (in Dutch). Voetbal Primeur. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
18. Lopes, João (12 November 2016). "Portugal empata no segundo jogo de preparação com Marrocos" [Portugal draw in second preparation game with Morocco]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 February 2022.
19. Moretto, Fabrizio (29 July 2019). "Italia Portogallo 3–4, lusitani campioni d'Europa Under 19. Decide Pedro Correia ai supplementari" [Italy Portugal 3–4, Lusitanians Under-19 champions of Europe. Pedro Correia decides it in extra time] (in Italian). Sky Sport. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
20. "COMENTÁRIO: Portugal empata com África do Sul e diz adeus ao Mundial de sub-20" [COMMENTARY: Portugal draw with South Africa and say goodbye to the Under-20 World Cup]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 31 May 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
21. Carroll, Sam (8 May 2019). "Everton vs Newcastle U23s LIVE - Live stream & score updates". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
22. Ribeiro, Patrick (29 January 2022). "Sporting defend their Taça da Liga title in second-half turnaround versus Benfica". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
23. "Taylor Booth named as Eredivisie Player of the Month for November". Eredivisie. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
24. João Virgínia at Soccerway. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
25. "Games played by João Virgínia in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

External links

• Profile at the Everton F.C. website
• João Virgínia national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)
• João Virgínia – UEFA competition record (archive)