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 when in charge of 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.
“Diogo, when we talked, he always knew the results,” Neto remembered with a smile. Jota’s support of the women’s team was a matter of pride for him. “This is the culture we have in Portugal, the culture we are building,” he said. In the hours before kick-off against Spain, almost every Portugal player posted a broken heart emoji or message on Instagram. In forward Jessica Silva’s tribute to Jota, she called him “one of our own”. At the end of their 5-0 defeat, some of Portugal’s players went into their stands behind the far goal and emerged with a banner. “Thank you for everything Diogo Jota,” it read.
There is a chance that only a few of Portugal’s players had crossed paths with Jota, but it was clear the warmth and humility that has been spoken about by his team-mates and coaches shone through to them as well. “Diogo wasn’t just a star,” Silva continued. “It was the good, the faithful, the attentive, the simple … of those who don’t need noise to mark their presence! Football has gone poorer … and so are we. You will never be forgotten.”
The shock of Jota’s death reinforces the idea that life, like a match, a major tournament and a football career, can be fragile and fleeting. And the moments where life can feel all the more precious, where you want to hold the most important people a little closer, those are the times that can also put football into some perspective, while bringing others together. The story of an emotional night in Bern was in one part the sense of grief and mourning, but there was also the irrepressible noise of the Portugal fans and the manner in which they bounced and sang, as if determined to embrace what they had.
It began in poignant silence to remember the brothers, broken only by a beautifully solemn ripple of applause that worked its way around the whole stadium. The Portugal fans in green and red then chanted Jota’s name, with a strip of supporters holding up letters spelling out “Rest in peace, Diogo Jota”. Another read: “You took the name of Portugal beyond borders, now it’s our turn to raise your name.” One simply stated: “Eternal Diogo Jota”.
It took less than two minutes for Spain to score, as Esther Gonzalez controlled a long pass with her shoulder and flicked her finish into the net to set the tone for a dominant night. Portugal were second best to Spain throughout, just as, one may suspect, many teams at Euro 2025 will be.
The world champions put on an impressive, professional opening performance, lit up by Alexia Putellas. Injured on the eve of the Euros three years ago, Putellas is playing as if she is desperate to make up for lost time. She scored Spain’s third and was named player of the match, with Gonzalez scoring twice, the 18-year-old Vicky Lopez adding one and Cristina Martin-Prieto finding the fifth in stoppage time.
They played at a level that Portugal could not match. “We were not able to put pressure on Spain,” Neto admitted. “We know this was a very strong team.”
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But they were not dealing with what Portugal faced. And still, even as Portugal trailed in the 88th minute and with hope long gone, their supporters held up scarves and defiantly sang the national anthem. If it looked a little bit like a rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, there was a significance there as well: that, after all, was the message Portugal wanted to send.
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