Sports

FIFA World Cup 2026: Know why Cristiano Ronaldo wore jersey number 21 after the victory over Croatia? Remembered them with tears

By Sandy Verma

New Delhi. In the round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Portugal defeated Croatia 2-1 in a thrilling match and made it to the last-16. However, after the end of the match, the most emotional moment was seen when Cristiano Ronaldo could not stop tears on the field. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner wore the number 21 jersey of his late teammate Diogo Jota in tribute.

Read :- FIFA World Cup 2026: Canada reached the last 16 for the first time in 40 years, created history

What was the reason for wearing jersey number 21?

July 3 was the first death anniversary of Portugal’s star footballer Diogo Jota. Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a road accident in Spain on July 3, 2025. This accident happened just 11 days after their marriage. The entire Portugal team looked emotional in memory of their late teammate. Ronaldo dedicated the victory to his former teammate after taking to the field wearing Jota’s number 21 jersey. After the final whistle, he hugged his teammates and greeted the fans with tears in his eyes.

How did Portugal win the match?

In the beginning of the match, Croatia gave a tough fight to Portugal. In the 53rd minute, Ivan Perišić scored a brilliant goal to give Croatia a 1-0 lead. After this, Portugal got a penalty with the help of VAR in the 68th minute. Under pressure, Cristiano Ronaldo converted the penalty into a goal and made the score 1-1. This was also the first goal of his World Cup knockout career.

Read :- Video: H-Town Girl Olivia Bethel became famous on social media amidst Mexico’s 3-0 victory, fans were bold with the slogans of ‘Mexicooooooo!’

Just when the match seemed to be heading towards extra time, in the fourth minute of injury time, Gonzalo Ramos gave Portugal a 2-1 lead with a brilliant header from Rafael Liao’s cross. Shortly after this, Croatia also scored an equalizing goal, but VAR canceled it due to offside and Portugal won.
Advertisement

Jota’s memory is still with Portugal

Diogo Jota was counted among Portugal’s most reliable forward players. He had scored 14 goals in 49 matches for the national team and it was believed that he would have been an important link in the team in the World Cup 2026. A month before his death, Jota wrote on social media after beating Spain to win the UEFA Nations League: ‘Everything is possible when you all are together. Thank you, Portugal!’

Jota’s journey became an inspiration

Diogo Jota started his career at Gondomar and then moved to Pacos de Ferreira, Porto, Wolverhampton Wanderers and finally Liverpool. Like many big players of Portugal, he did not come out of the famous academies of Benfica, Sporting or Porto, but on the basis of his hard work he made a place among the best footballers in the world.

Read :- Video- This is the hottest fan of FIFA World Cup 2026, even big actresses fail in beauty, she stunned with her hot look.

This memorable win over Croatia took Portugal to the last-16, where they will now face Spain. But even more than this victory, the emotional picture of Ronaldo is being talked about, in which he was seen leaving the field with tears wearing the number 21 jersey in memory of his late teammate Diogo Jota.

Sandy Verma 159 posts 0 comments
You might also like More from author

Comments are closed.