cristiano ronaldo The Portuguese national team paid a rich tribute to former teammate Diogo Jota as they secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Croatia in the last 32 of the World Cup in Toronto on Thursday.After the final whistle, Ronaldo, wearing Jota’s No. 21 Portugal jersey, stood with his teammates, looking at the sky, emotional. The tribute took on extra significance as Friday marked the first anniversary of Jota and his brother Andre Silva being killed in a car crash in western Spain. Jota played 49 times for the Portuguese team during his national team career and scored 14 goals.“We knew before the game that this was a special moment,” Ronaldo told Fox. “Today, our team talks about the incredible coincidences of life.“I’m surprised because what happened today was huge for us, not just because we won the game but the way we did it.” Croatia took the lead through Perisic, but Ronaldo equalized with a penalty kick in the 68th minute. This goal means a lot for the Portugal captain as it is his first goal in the knockout stages of the World Cup. At 41 years and 147 days old, Ronaldo also became the oldest player to score in the knockout rounds of the Men’s Football World Cup. Ronaldo later told Sport CP: “We know he is with us and it only made sense to win today to pay tribute to him in the best possible way.”In stoppage time, Gonzalo Ramos scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to seal Portugal’s victory. Croatia believed they had equalized soon after, but VAR ruled that Mario Pasalic’s goal was offside. Portugal will face Spain in the round of 16 on Monday in Arlington, Texas.
