Portugal paid tribute to Diogo Jota after sealing the Round of 16 in Toronto
Portugal's celebration in Toronto paused for a moment to pay tribute to Diogo Jota, as Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and donned the No. 21. Rúben Neves came on in the 80th minute and the tie against Croatia remained 2-1 after the late equalizer was dismissed by VAR.
It was July 3rd in Portugal when the Seleção das Quinas finally sealed the ticket to the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026. After a fierce clash in Toronto, the team's celebration stopped for a moment to pay tribute to Diogo Jota.
Cristiano Ronaldo led the commemoration, holding up the No. Jota wore 21 in the national team. Ronaldo later even wore that number while handing a fan his own shirt.
<figure style="margin:2rem 0;overflow:hidden;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;background:#f9f9f9"><img src="https://s.yimg.com/lo/mysterio/api/9c83f51d0daaf9e3c3c198d178766c4858c66202cae89082c6b5bdaac89095f7/lightyear_networkapi/resizefill_w1024_h683;quality_80;format_webp/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fonefootball_articles_802%2Fe21ee868a20b2e53c18c973d862c1623" alt="Image" style="width:100%;height:auto;object-fit:contain" loading="lazy" /></figure>The recipient of No. 21 for Portugal is Rúben Neves, Jota's best friend. Neves came on for Ronaldo in the 80th minute and immediately became part of the tense end of the match.
The end almost turned painful for Portugal when in the 113th minute Croatia found an equalizer after the ball bounced off Neves from Joško Gvardiol's free-kick. But VAR immediately pointed to offside, so Portugal's 2-1 advantage remained.
As fate would have it, the scoreline was 2-1 in line with the number 21 attributed to Jota throughout the night. In the end, Portugal went through to the Round of 16 and the team has one more chance to continue their quest for the title in the next match.
