Cristiano Ronaldo paid a classy tribute to the late Diogo Jota on the anniversary of his death after the match as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 to advance to the last 16 of the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo wore a shirt with Diogo Jota’s number 21 on the back after Portugal’s win over Croatia (Image: Buda Mendes)
Cristiano Ronaldo wore a shirt with Diogo Jota’s number after Portugal’s World Cup win over Croatia to commemorate the first anniversary of the player’s death.
Goals from Ronaldo and Gonzalo Ramos sealed a 2-1 victory for Roberto Martinez’s side. Croatia and Josko Gvardiol survived a dramatic scene late in the game when what they thought was an equalizer was disallowed due to VAR intervention.
And while he and his team-mates enjoyed the moment, Ronaldo donned the Portugal shirt with Jota’s number 21, his country’s number, before heading to the fans.
Later, in emotional scenes in Toronto, he and the team held their shirts aloft in front of fans.
Images of Jota were also shown on a large screen during the Portuguese national anthem before the match.
“We won for ourselves, for Diogo and for Portugal!!! Let’s go!!!!!,” Ronaldo wrote in a social media post alongside a photo of the players and Jota’s jersey.
Portugal held up a shirt with Diogo Jota’s number on it at the end of the match (Image: Mattia Ozbot)
Friday marks one year since Jota and his brother Andre Silva lost their lives in a car crash at the age of 28.
The Liverpool striker was traveling to Santander in Spain to catch the ferry back to the UK with his 25-year-old brother.
Ronaldo in a Jota shirt (Image: Buda Mendes)
Portugal wore wristbands in his honor during the World Cup, and his parents were present at the opening game against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he was also shown on the big screen.
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