Every team at the World Cup is allowed to name a 26-player squad. Diogo Jota, who tragically died in a car crash last year, is Portugal’s 27th. Manager Roberto Martinez has christened him so, and Jota’s name is included in the official World Cup squad announcement. Now, he will accompany his teammates on the field, as Portugal players at the World Cup will sport special wristbands in memory of their former teammate.
Midfielder Vitinha, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup opener against DR Congo, revealed that the wristbands were gifted to the team by Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro.
“When we went to meet with the Prime Minister, he offered us this wristband.”
“They made sure that it was a wristband that we could wear on the pitch. 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.”
“He let us choose if we wanted to use it or not, how (we use it), during the day or during the match. We received it with a lot of affection and we chose to use it.”
The green-and-red bands bear the 27 players’ names listed in gold lettering. The players, led by captain Cristiano Ronaldo, can also be seen wearing the wristbands in training photos posted on the team’s official social media accounts.
Jota’s absence is still keenly felt in the Portugal camp. Upon the team’s arrival in the US, Matheus Nunes was spotted carrying a copy of Jota’s biography under his arm. Meanwhile, his #21 jersey has been passed to Ruben Neves, his best friend and long-time teammate for Wolverhampton Wanderers and the national team. Portugal had retired Jota’s jersey number after his passing last year, but World Cup numbering regulations meant it had to be reassigned for the tournament.
Another person carrying Jota with him to the World Cup is his former Liverpool teammate, Andy Robertson.
“I’m not only just playing for me. I’m playing for both of us,” said the Scotland captain, as part of a video feature for FIFA. “I’ll carry him in my heart and I know he’ll be with me come the first game, come the second game, come the third game and hopefully beyond that.
Last week, Robertson had shared an emotional letter sent to him by Jota’s widow, Rute Cardoso.
“Diogo often spoke of you, of the friendship you built, the battles you fought together, the challenges, the laughter, the conversations about football and about dreams,” wrote Cardoso. “The World Cup was one of those dreams.”
Robertson lived that dream in Scotland’s 1-0 win over Haiti on Sunday.
Come Wednesday, so will Portugal.
