"I think so. My first goal for the national team, with this number... it couldn't have come in a better way. That desire and passion he had to be here with us... I said that each one of us was going to inherit a little bit of who Diogo was, and today was a game like that. It was a very difficult game, against a team defending extremely low, with practically no space. It had to be this way."
"Ruben Neves believes his dramatic winner against the Republic of Ireland was written in the stars, having scored his first Portugal goal while wearing the number of his close friend Diogo Jota. Neves inherited the number 21 shirt for Portugal in tribute to his close friend and former team-mate, who died in a car crash alongside his brother Andre Silva in July. Neves and Jota played together for three years at Wolves as well as teaming up for their country, winning the Nations League title in 2019 and again this June."
Ruben Neves scored a dramatic 91st-minute winner to secure Portugal's victory over the Republic of Ireland, nodding Francisco Trincao's in-swinging cross past Caoimhin Kelleher. The match featured a saved Cristiano Ronaldo penalty and a stubborn Irish defensive display that left little space. Neves wears number 21 in tribute to his close friend and former team-mate Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash alongside his brother Andre Silva in July. Neves and Jota spent three years together at Wolves and won the Nations League in 2019 and again this June. Neves celebrated by revealing a tattoo of himself with Jota.
Read at Soccer News
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