One year after Diogo Jota's fatal crash, Portugal carry his memory into World Cup knockout match against Croatia

The crash that shocked football

On 3 July 2025, Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva died when their Lamborghini suffered a tyre blowout and left the A-52 motorway near Puebla de Sanabria in Spain. Jota, 28, was driving to England for pre-season with Liverpool because doctors had advised against flying after minor lung surgery. He had won the Premier League two months earlier and the Nations League with Portugal, and had married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso just 11 days before the accident; the couple had three children.

Global outpouring of grief

The funeral in Gondomar drew Liverpool’s entire squad and most of the national team (Cristiano Ronaldo stayed away to avoid becoming the focus). Liverpool retired Jota’s number 20 shirt, while murals, flowers and tributes appeared across the city. At Portugal’s World Cup debut against DR Congo, FIFA displayed a black-and-white image of Jota on stadium screens as his parents, Isabel and Joaquím Silva, watched from the stands and Nuno Gomes embraced the player’s mother. The squad wore remembrance wristbands provided by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro.

A one-year remembrance mass

A memorial mass will be held at 19:30 on 3 July 2026 at Igreja Matriz de S. Cosme in Gondomar, the family’s home town, the local funeral home announced.

World Cup stage becomes a tribute

The anniversary coincides with Portugal’s round-of-32 match against Croatia in Toronto, kicking off at 01:00 CEST. Portuguese fans plan to bring white balloons into the stadium and applaud in the 21st minute, Jota’s former national-team number. Head coach Roberto Martinez says the squad wants to win the tournament for him.

Diogo is our sun and our light. We want to win the World Cup for him.

Personal connections endure

Midfielder Rúben Neves, wearing Jota’s number 21 shirt at the World Cup, revealed he still messages him in a WhatsApp group with Rute Cardoso.

Few people know this, we have a WhatsApp group with Rute and Diogo, and it’s still there, and we continue to talk there.

Martinez already named Jota an honorary ‘plus-one’ player when he announced the squad in May, and every training session brings back memories of the forward who was central to the team’s recent successes.