The Portuguese team remembered Diogo Jota on the first anniversary of his death before beating Croatia 2-1. Cristiano Ronaldo led an emotional tribute that moved the fans and the world of football.
July 2 is no longer just any date for Portuguese football. A year after the death of Diogo Jota, Portugal took to the field with the memory of one of its most beloved players and paid tribute to him after achieving a dramatic qualification to the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
The Portuguese Football Federation published the message on its social networks “I always know us” (“Always with us”), accompanied by an image of Jota with the national team’s shirt. The publication was replicated by thousands of fans and set the tone for a day in which the result, at times, took a backseat.
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the protagonists of the tribute. At the end of the match, the Portuguese captain held the shirt with the number 21, the number that identified Jota with the national team, and looked up to the sky along with his teammates and the fans present in the stadium.
FIFA also remembered the striker with the message “For Diogo”while images of the tribute began to go viral on social networks. The videos showed players and fans united in applause that turned the minute of tribute into one of the most emotional moments of the World Cup day.
Then football arrived. Portugal defeated Croatia 2-1 in a match full of drama. Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from a penalty and scored for the first time in his career in a direct elimination phase of a World Cup, Gonçalo Ramos sealed qualification and the VAR once again played a leading role by disallowing a goal that would have meant the Croatian tie in stoppage time.
But the victory had a meaning that went beyond the scoreboard. On the first anniversary of Diogo Jota’s death, Portugal found a way to remember him where he would have liked to be most: on a soccer field and wearing his country’s shirt.
The image of Cristiano Ronaldo holding the number 21 and the message “Always with us” They summed up the feeling of a team that continues to carry Diogo Jota in its memory, even as it continues its path to the 2026 World Cup title.