After clinching a dramatic win over Croatia, the Portugal squad temporarily halted celebrations to pay tribute to Diogo Jota on the eve of the anniversary of his tragic death
05:35, 03 Jul 2026Updated 05:43, 03 Jul 2026
Cristiano Ronaldo donned Diogo Jota's jersey at fulltime
Cristiano Ronaldo donned Diogo Jota's jersey at fulltime(Image: FOX Sports)
Cristiano Ronaldo and the entire Portugal squad paid tribute to Diogo Jota after clinching a dramatic win over Croatia.
On Thursday, Portugal secured a dramatic 2-1 win over Croatia in Toronto to advance to the World Cup Round of 16. The game exploded into life in the second half, with Croatia taking the lead through Ivan Perisic before a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty and a Goncalo Ramos header gave Portugal the lead.
Ramos’ winner came in stoppage time, but there was still enough time left on the clock for Croatia to put the ball in the back of the net — only for a tight offside to be called via VAR. After the game, Ronaldo and the Portugal team held up Jota's No. 21 shirt to pay tribute to their former teammate.
The 41-year-old went a step further and put on Jota 's No. 21 Portugal jersey following the final whistle, tears in his eyes, as he gathered with his teammates. Ronaldo also posted on Instagram a picture of the entire squad with the shirt, captioning the post with: “We won for us, Diogo and Portugal!!! LETS GOOOOO!!!!”
Friday marks exactly one year since Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car accident in western Spain. Jota played 49 times for Portugal, scoring 14 goals.
“We knew it before the game, it was a so special moment,” Ronaldo told FOX Sports. “We speak today, our group, about the coincidence of life, it's unbelievable.
“I was amazed because the situation of today it means a lot to us, not only because we won the game but also the way.”
Jota passed away on July 3, 2025, when he and his brother were involved in a car accident. The Portuguese international was unable to fly as part of his post-surgical recovery plan and was driving to catch a ferry to England. He was 28.
The entire Portugal squad posed with Diogo Jota's jersey to pay tribute to the late forward ahead of the anniversary of his death
The entire Portugal squad posed with Diogo Jota's jersey to pay tribute to the late forward ahead of the anniversary of his death(Image: FOX Sports)
The Portugal tribute comes as a Jota memorial was set up to honor both Diogo and Andre.
Jota joined Liverpool during the 2020 summer transfer window and saw his international profile rise. He was included in the 2020 Euro squad, starting in a 4-2 group-stage win against Germany. He would also feature at the 2024 Euros.
Jota was extremely close with Portuguese midfielder Rueben Neves, his longtime international peer and teammate at Wolves from 2017 to 2020.
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Earlier in the tournament, Neves said: “We have a WhatsApp group with Rute (Jota's widow) and Diogo, and it's still there, and we continue to talk there.
“Whenever something special happens, I have the conversations archived on my WhatsApp so I can continue to send him messages.”
Portugal will take on Spain in the Round of 16 at Dallas Stadium on Monday, July 6.