Haglund Syndrome.. Why did the Portuguese star play with perforated shoes in the World Cup? | sports

Portuguese Pedro Neto caught the attention during his country’s match against Spain, in the 16-final of the 2026 World Cup, which “European Brazil” lost with an unanswered goal at Dallas Stadium.

During the match, one of Neto’s shoes, the Chelsea player, was torn, so he immediately went to the bench to replace it, but surprisingly, he returned with another torn shoe.

Why did Neto play with perforated shoes?

Pictures spread on social media showed a large hole in the shoe that Neto wore, which raised confusion and questions from followers at the same time.

The Spanish newspaper AS explained that Neto deliberately wore the shoes because he was suffering from what is known as “Haglund Syndrome.”

Haglund syndrome or deformity is characterized by an excess bone growth at the back of the heel bone at the point where the Achilles tendon connects. The friction of this growth with hard shoes leads to irritation of the area and thus inflammation of the tendons, resulting in pain, swelling and redness in the heel.

Neto (26 years old) resorted to this shoe to avoid feeling pain in his heel, as this hole helps him relieve pressure in that area and avoid constant friction.

The newspaper pointed out that what Neto did in this match is not an exceptional case, but rather a usual routine that he adheres to in matches, even at the club level.

Neto participated with the Portugal national team in the World Cup for the first time in his professional career, and played all the matches.

Neto played all the first-round matches, in addition to the two qualifying matches against Croatia and Spain, for a total of 352 minutes, according to data from the famous Transfermarkt website, during which he was satisfied with making one goal in the opening match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Neto appeared for the first time with the Portugal national team in November 2020 during the era of former coach Fernando Santos, and since that date he has played 30 international matches and contributed to 8 goals (scoring 3 and making 5 others).