 "Watch: Al Hilal's Cancelo, Neves break down in tears during Diogo Jota tribute at FIFA Club World Cup")
Al Hilal’s Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves struggled to contain their emotions and broke down in tears as a moment’s silence was observed during their FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Fluminese on Friday in memory of Portugal teammate Diogo Jota, who passed away at the age of 28 on Thursday.
Also paying tribute to Liverpool forward Jota, who died in a car crash in Spain along with brother Andre, was Chelsea’s Pedro Neto, who carried a special jersey with the names Diogo and Andre during the day’s second quarter-final against Palmeiras.
Watch:
In remembrance of Diogo Jota and André Silva, a minute of silence was observed. 🤍 pic.twitter.com/yYqKQWMur4
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) July 4, 2025
🙏 A powerful tribute.
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) July 5, 2025
Pedro Neto honors the memories of Diogo Jota and his brother André with a shirt bearing their names. pic.twitter.com/adYnFahkZQ
Friday’s Club World Cup matches, which took place in Orlando and Philadelphia, marked the first on-field appearance of the Portuguese trio since the demise of the forward, who had helped Liverpool win their second Premier League title before starring in his nation’s UEFA Nations League triumph alongside Cristiano Ronaldo with a 2-1 victory over Spain in the final.
Also Read | Diogo Jota obit: From humble beginnings to achieving dizzying heights with Portugal and Liverpool
Neves and Neto were also part of the Nations League-winning Portuguese side, with the former having also played alongside Jota at Wolverhampton Wanderers before the latter’s transfer to Liverpool in 2020.
Al Hilal coach Simone Inzaghi reflected on the tragic incident earlier this week and how it affected the two Portuguese players in his squad ahead of the quarter-final.
“We all know it’s a sad day because of what happened to Diogo and Andre, unfortunately, these are things that shouldn’t happen, which happened,” Inzaghi had said in a press conference.
“As we are all aware, we have two Portuguese players, Ruben Neves and Cancelo, who were very close to the guys. Clearly today was a difficult day for everyone. We tried to work but clearly, the atmosphere today was not the same as other days. It was a tragedy,” he added.
Also Read | 'Rest in Peace Diogo': Football world mourns the tragic passing of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota
Jota had tied the knot with his childhood sweetheart Rute Cardoso just 10 days before the fatal clash that occurred in the province of Zamora.
Fluminese and Chelsea at set for a semi-final showdown at the Club World Cup after defeating Al Hilal and Palmeiras respectively in the Club World Cup quarters.
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