From the darkness, Portugal were faced with an impossible task: to bring some light into the world after the heartbreaking tragedy of losing one of their own. The death of Diogo Jota, killed in a car crash with his brother Andre Silva in the early hours of Thursday morning, had shaken the Portugal team when they woke up on the morning of their opening match of Euro 2025 against Spain. Afterwards, a 5-0 defeat to the world champions barely scratches the surface in the face of such a loss.
“Today is a sad day,” the Portugal head coach Francisco Neto said. “To lose two lives, so young, of course it is hard. We are thinking of the family.” For Neto, and for many players in the Portugal team, this felt personal too. Neto had previously worked with Jota during a spell with Portugal’s Under-19s, and they had stayed in touch as he went on to make 49 appearances for Portugal’s senior team and star in the Premier League for Liverpool. In turn, Jota followed their results and kept track of the progress of the Navegadoras.
