2026-06-02 10:40:54
Ruben Neves says that the memory of the late Diogo Jota will carry Portugal forward at the World Cup this summer.
The Liverpool forward tragically passed away alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car accident in Spain last July and Neves says that their former team-mate will give the team an “extra bit of strength” in North America.
Neves – who played with Jota at club level with Porto and Wolves as well as the national team – said: “We’ve talked about it a lot and we always say the same thing.
“Sometimes you need to hold on to something to give you that extra bit of strength. That will be one of the things that can give us that extra strength at certain moments and help us get where we want to go.”
Neves converted the decisive penalty when Portugal beat Spain in last year’s Nations League final and is hoping for an equally special moment this summer.
The Al-Hilal midfielder said: “After that match, I said it had been one of the most important goals of my career – if not the most important.
“So if it happens again in this World Cup, and it helps the team progress to the next round or even win the tournament, that would be great. But I’d prefer to win within 90 minutes and not have to go to penalties. We’re focused on what we can achieve as a team.”
Portugal – who are captained by the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo – are among the favourites heading into the World Cup and Neves is confident that the squad can cope with the pressure as they bid to win the tournament for the first time.
He said: “All the players in the national team are more than used to this kind of pressure.
“We recently had four players [Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, João Neves, and Gonçalo Ramos] win the Champions League for the second time [with Paris Saint-Germain]. We are a young but experienced squad.
“We take this in our stride because we know we have the quality and that we can achieve great things for Portugal.”
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