Sports
Who was Diogo Jota, Portugal No. 21 who the team is honoring at World Cup?
July 6, 2026
Source: Yahoo Sports · Read on source site
If you've been following Portugal at the 2026 World Cup, you may have seen Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the team honoring No. 21 with a jersey after a win (see below). What's that all about? We have an answer.
>It's a tribute to the late Diego Jota. In 2025, the Liverpool soccer player died in a car crash along with his brother Andre Silva. Jota was 28 and Silva was 25. Jota wore No. 21, and in tribute, Portugal midfielder Ruben Neves wore the number for the World Cup.
>"Sometimes you need to hold on to something to give you that extra bit of strength," Neves said, via USA TODAY Sports. "[Jota's memory] will be one of the things that can give us that extra strength at certain moments and help us get where we want to go."
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal and teammates celebrate with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>July 2, 2026; Toronto, Canada; Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the match as he wears the shirt of Diogo Jota ahead of the one year anniversary of his passing.
>July 2, 2026; Toronto, Canada; Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates pose with a shirt in memory of former player Diogo Jota ahead of the one year anniversary of his death, as Portugal qualify for the Round of 16 stage of the World Cup.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal celebrates with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>TORONTO, ONTARIO - JULY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal and teammates celebrate with a shirt in commemoration of late teammate Diogo Jota after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 02, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.
>July 2, 2026; Toronto, Canada; Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the match as he wears the shirt of Diogo Jota ahead of the one year anniversary of his passing.
>July 2, 2026; Toronto, Canada; Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates pose with a shirt in memory of former player Diogo Jota ahead of the one year anniversary of his death, as Portugal qualify for the Round of 16 stage of the World Cup.
>Jota and Silva had a tire that blew out on their yellow Lamborghini. The vehicle caught fire. They were found dead.
>This article originally appeared on For The Win: Who was Diogo Jota, Portugal No. 21 who the team is honoring at World Cup?