2026-06-27 09:34:41
Roberto Martinez says Diogo Jota is “always” with Portugal.
The Portuguese forward and his brother Andre Silva tragically died in a car crash last July and the coach says the team will do their utmost to honour the late team-mate with their performances at the World Cup.
Martinez told FourFourTwo magazine: “It was a tragedy at a human level that’s very difficult to put into words. Grief is deeply personal and everyone in the squad has processed it in their own way. We’ve tried above all to give that process the respect and space it needs.
“What I can say is that Diogo has become a real inspiration inside this group. He was someone who brought absolute intensity to every training session, with no exception – someone who believed deeply in what this squad could achieve, who wanted to win titles with Portugal more than almost anyone I have ever worked with.”
The coach continued: “His standards, his energy and his conviction – these are attributes the players want to carry forward, to honour. Diogo is always with us. He’s a light that reminds us all to be present every day, to give everything we have, because tomorrow is never guaranteed.
“That isn’t a cliché, it’s something the players feel genuinely and deeply, and that feeling gives us a strength that goes well beyond tactics.”
Martinez guided Portugal to victory in last year’s Nations League final and he hopes the success can give the team the boost needed to lift the World Cup for the first time ever.
The Spanish manager said: “The distance between being close to winning and actually winning is very small in physical terms, but very large in psychological weight. Winning it gives us proof that we can close out a tournament.
“I want to be completely honest about what that means for the World Cup. It would be easy – and in a certain way dishonest – for a manager to say, ‘We have no expectations, we take it one game at a time.’ Our players compete every week in dressing rooms where the expectation is to win the Champions League. There’s no logic in reducing that standard when they pull on the Portugal shirt.
“We’re genuine candidates to go very far this summer. We have the quality, the collective organisation, the recent tournament experience, and now the proof that we can win.
“We’re not favourites; Portugal has never won a World Cup, our best result was third in 1966, with Eusebio. There’s a psychological dimension to not having won something before – a barrier that can’t be declared gone simply because you feel ready. It has to be earned, step by step, by playing at the tournament.”
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