Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal to honour Diogo Jota at FIFA World Cup 2026 with a special heart-touching tribute

The Portugal footballers will wear a special wristband during the FIFA World Cup 2026 as a heart-touching tribute to former teammate Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident last year in Spain, along with his brother. The development was confirmed during press conference by defender Vitinha.

Led by talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal will begin their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign in a relatively easy opponent in DR Congo on June 17 at the Houston Stadium in Texas. The special commemorative wristbands were provided to the players by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro just before their departure to the United States for the greatest show on the earth.

Based on a Reuters report, the wristbands feature names of all the players in the Portugal squad announced by head coach Roberto Martínez. Alongside the names, it also features a special name in Diogo Jota.

"Basically, the story of the wristband is, when we went to meet with the Prime Minister, he offered us this wristband," Vitinha told reporters. "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 names 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,” added the Paris Saint-Germain star.

What happened to Diogo Jota ?

The incident took place on the wee hours of July 3 in 2025. Along with his brother Andre Silva, Jota was travelling in a Lamborghini Urus SUV. The car suffered a tyre blowout while trying to overtake another car on the A-52 highway, which is near the Cernadilla town in Zamora, just 15 kilometres from the Portugal border.

As a result of the blowout, the car overturned off the road and immediately caught fire. By the time firefighters reached the crash site, the vehicle was completely burned out. Jota and his brother were identifed through the identification papers.

Jota was just 28 years old at the time of his death and was enjoying some of the best moments of his career. He had won the UEFA Nations League with Portugal and the English Premier League with Liverpool. To add more to that, the incident happened just barely one month after his marriage.

For Portugal, Jota played 49 matches and scored 14 goals. The loss still haunts the football lovers.

'Diogo will be with you'

Meanwhile, Rute Cardoso, who is the mother of Jota's three children, wrote a letter to Scotland's Andy Robertson at the FIFA World Cup 2026. Robertson and Jota played together at Liverpool.

“When I heard your words and learnt what you felt on that day when Scotland qualified for the World Cup, after so many years of waiting, I realised that Diogo never truly left the pitch,” Cardoso wrote in the letter published by FIFA.

“By achieving that moment and securing your place at the World Cup, you won't be going alone. You'll be taking his dream with you too. And when you step on to the pitch, I know it won't just be you walking out. Diogo will be with you in your thoughts, in your steps, in your heart.”

Get all updates from FIFA World Cup 2026 here, along with FIFA World Cup 2026 Complete Schedule and FIFA World Cup 2026 Points Table.