One year ago, Diogo Jota lost his life in a car accident in Spain, just 11 days after marrying his long-term partner Rute Cardoso.
His brother Andre Silva was also killed in the tragedy on 3 July 2025, leaving Portugal and the football world in profound grief.
Now, as Portugal prepare to face Croatia in Toronto on Thursday evening, the occasion carries an enormous emotional weight for everyone involved.
Ruben Neves, who shared years of football with Jota at Porto, Wolves and with the national team, has spoken movingly about how he still maintains a connection with his late friend.
“Few people know this,” Neves told Portuguese TV show Alta Definicao, “We have a WhatsApp group with Rute 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,” Neves added, revealing the depth of their bond.
Neves is wearing Jota’s number 21 national shirt at the World Cup, a tribute to the forward who scored 14 times in 49 appearances for his country.
Head coach Roberto Martinez, who named Jota as an honorary plus-one player when announcing his World Cup squad in May, has been equally open about what the forward means to this group.
“Diogo is our sun and our light,” said Martinez, who added simply, “We want to win the World Cup for him.”
The Croatia match falls precisely on the first anniversary of Jota’s death, a fact that Martinez says makes it unmistakably Jota’s game in the minds of every player and member of staff.
Jota was 28 years old and travelling back to Liverpool by car and ferry for pre-season when the Lamborghini he was in left the road after a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle.
Doctors had advised the forward, who had celebrated winning the Premier League title just two months earlier, against flying following minor surgery.
His journey from his hometown club Gondomar through Pacos de Ferreira, Porto, Wolverhampton and finally Liverpool was widely celebrated as a rare success story outside Portugal’s major academies.
A black and white photograph of Jota celebrating a Portugal goal has been displayed on big screens as the national anthem plays before every match at this tournament.
Captain Cristiano Ronaldo and his team-mates have also worn wristbands during matches in Jota’s memory, gifted by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and carrying the names of all squad members alongside Jota’s own.
“It has all the specifics for us to be able to enter the pitch with it, with the name of all the players plus the special name of Diogo Jota,” midfielder Vitinha explained.
Jota’s parents Joaquim and Isabel were present as guests at Portugal’s opening group game against DR Congo in Houston, where they wiped away tears during an emotional tribute in the stands.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, after meeting the couple, wrote that “representing Portugal at this tournament was a dream Diogo nurtured with everyone who loved him.”
Neves, who helped carry Jota’s coffin in Gondomar just hours after competing at the Club World Cup, has since had a tattoo of him embracing Jota etched onto his left calf.
“Every day is difficult,” Martinez reflected, “When we are training, there are always moments when Diogo comes back into our memory.”
Portugal have won just one of their three group games but a victory over Croatia would secure a last-16 meeting with Spain or Austria, and the squad are drawing on something deeper than football for motivation.
“Diogo’s dream is still with us and he sets the standards, he sets the light for the direction of this group,” said Martinez, “Diogo will always be with us.”
