Victorious Portugal pay emotional tribute to Jota
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- Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in their World Cup group finale to set up a last-16 tie against Spain, having won just one of their three group games.
- Cristiano Ronaldo held up a '21' shirt in Jota's memory after the final whistle, with the entire Portugal squad gathering around the shirt held aloft in Toronto.
- Diogo Jota died on 3 July 2025 in a car accident in Spain that also killed his brother Andre Silva; the Lamborghini crashed due to a tyre blowout while Jota was driving to Liverpool for pre-season by car and ferry, as doctors had advised him against flying after minor surgery, and the crash came 11 days after he married long-term partner Rute Cardoso.
- Roberto Martinez named Jota as an honorary 'plus-one' player when announcing his World Cup squad in May, telling reporters "Diogo is our sun and our light" and "We want to win the World Cup for him."
- Portugal's squad wears special green-and-red wristbands gifted by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, inscribed with every squad member's name alongside Jota's, permitted for on-pitch use.
- Ruben Neves said he still messages Jota in a WhatsApp group that includes Jota's widow Rute, has a tattoo of him embracing Jota on his left calf, and helped carry Jota's coffin at the 5 July 2025 funeral in Gondomar hours after playing for Al Hilal at the Club World Cup.
- Jota scored 14 goals in 49 Portugal appearances and rose from hometown club Gondomar through Pacos de Ferreira, Porto, Wolves and Liverpool without ever joining one of the big three Portuguese academies (Benfica, Sporting, Porto).
Why it matters: Portugal advance to face Spain in the last 16 while carrying both the weight of a one-year-old grief and a tepid tournament record (one win in three group games); Martinez has explicitly framed Jota's memory as the squad's driving force, meaning the team must now translate that emotional fuel into results against a far stronger opponent with the tournament on the line.
