Portugal had just won the most dramatic match of this World Cup.A chaotic comeback victory, a spectacular 94th-minute winner, a 103rd-minute Croatia equaliser ruled out by VAR, indescribable tension, controversy and elation.And yet, as soon as the initial emotions of relief and ecstasy subsided, the attention of Portugal’s players turned to someone not in the stadium, someone they will never see again.Diogo Jota died a year ago today aged just 28. He and his 25-year-old brother Andre Silva passed away when the car they were in crashed in Spain. Jota was returning to England via road and ferry, having been advised not to fly after undergoing minor surgery.It has been 12 months since the utterly devastating accident, but for many of Portugal’s players the grief will never leave them. Being at a tournament without him only exacerbates their sense of loss.As they took the acclaim of their fans in Toronto after reaching the last 16 on Thursday night, the group lined up for a squad photo, with captain Cristiano Ronaldo stoney-faced in the centre, holding a Portugal shirt with 21 on the back, Jota’s international number.Ronaldo also wore the shirt and pointed to the sky to remember his former team-mate.“We knew it before the game, it was a special moment,” Ronaldo, 41, told Fox Sports. “We speak today, our group, about the coincidence of life, it’s unbelievable.“I was amazed, because the situation of today, it means a lot to us, not only because we won the game but also the way.”In the squad picture, while many of the players are smiling after experiencing such a joyous moment on the pitch, it’s hard not avoid and be saddened by the expression of Ruben Neves, Jota’s great friend.Ruben Neves, who inherited Jota’s No 21 with the national team, is standing two to Ronaldo’s left (Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)Neves and Jota grew from boys into men alongside each other, team-mates at youth international level (they were born four months apart) and at Porto in 2016-17. They both made the brave, career-changing decision to move to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship in July 2017, aged 20.They lived in the same area of Compton, Wolverhampton. Their partners became close friends, they both had young children and, on the pitch, they helped Wolves rise from England’s second tier to seventh in the Premier League and a Europa League quarter-final.They became permanent fixtures in the senior Portugal squad at around the same time, too.Neves, who replaced Ronaldo late in the second half against Croatia and helped Portugal over the winning line, recently revealed he still messages Jota in the WhatsApp group he shares with Jota’s wife Rute. She and Jota were married just 11 days before his death.“I still talk to him,” Neves told Portuguese TV show Alta Definicao. “We have a WhatsApp group with Rute and Diogo, and it’s still there, and we continue to talk there.“Whenever something special happens, I have the conversations archived on my WhatsApp so I can continue to send him messages.”Neves has a tattoo on his calf of himself and Jota embracing, a permanent reminder of their close friendship.The tattoo Neves has on his left calf, of him and Jota (Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images)It was Jota’s dream to play in the World Cup. He had missed the 2022 tournament through injury and, given his prominence in the squad, the former Liverpool forward would certainly have been there now. It would have been one of the proudest moment of his career and his life.His absence leaves behind a huge hole that will never be filled, but Portugal’s players, staff and manager Roberto Martinez are determined to keep his memory alive.“Diogo is our light,” Martinez told The Athletic in an interview on June 10, just before World Cup.“Diogo is our reference of wanting to do or needing to do what his dream was, which was winning titles for Portugal, like he did winning the Nations League (in June 2025). He was a big part of what we built in the dressing room.“He wanted to win the World Cup, so it becomes a bit of a responsibility, an example, because Diogo was the pure example of believing in whatever could be possible, always with that tenacity, always finding the answer in the right moment in the difficult moment in the game.“The way that he found the way against Denmark in the quarter-finals was the difference in the Nations League campaign. So, for us, he’s become a real focus, and probably an extra bit of energy and light in those difficult moments that you have as a football team, as a national team, and we need to use his inspiration until the end because he’s part of us.”Cristiano Ronaldo wore a jersey bearing Diogo Jota’s old No 21 after victory over Croatia (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)Portugal next face Spain in the World Cup last 16. The tributes will continue. A black-and-white picture of Jota was shown on the giant screen during the Portugal national anthem for their opening game against DR Congo, while in the stands, Jota’s parents, Joaquim and Isabel Silva, both wearing Portugal shirts, were in tears.Liverpool yesterday unveiled a permanent memorial to Jota and his brother Andre. Named ‘Forever 20’, it has been housed on 97 Avenue outside Anfield and features a flowing heart sculpture to recognise Jota’s goal celebration. The design features the numbers 20 and 30, which Jota and his brother wore during their careers, as well as hand-carved words of the song Liverpool’s fans sang about him. A PlayStation controller also sits on the plinth, reflecting Jota’s love of gaming.