Mexico striker Raul Jimenez paid an emotional tribute to former teammate Diogo Jota after scoring in his country’s Gold Cup triumph over the USMNT on Sunday night.
Jota, who helped Liverpool win the Premier League title last season, and his younger brother Andre Silva were tragically killed in a car accident close to the Portuguese border in northwestern Spain early Thursday morning.
The pair were traveling in Diogo’s Lamborghini when one of its tires blew out and sent the supercar careering off the road, before it burst into flames. The emergency services were called but the brothers could not be saved.
Tributes have poured in for Jota and his brother over the past four days, with several players dedicating goals to the pair since their fatal accident.
And after getting on the scoresheet in the Concacaf Gold Cup final, Jimenez made sure to dedicate the goal to his friend and ex-teammate.
The Premier League star, who played alongside Jota for two years at Wolves before the latter’s move to Liverpool in 2020, marked his equalizing strike by sitting on the turf and recreating Diogo’s trademark gaming celebration alongside a special No 20 jersey with his name on.
Mexico striker Raul Jimenez paid an emotional tribute to Diogo Jota in the Gold Cup final
Jota, who helped Liverpool win the Premier League title last season, and his younger brother Andre Silva were tragically killed in a car accident on Thursday
Jimenez played with Jota for two years at Wolves before the latter’s move to Liverpool in 2020
The Premier League star dedicated his goal against the USMNT to his friend and ex-teammate by recreating his trademark gaming celebration
Jota memorably pulled out that celebration after a dramatic 94th-minute winner for Liverpool against Tottenham back in 2023.
Jimenez drew Mexico level in the 27th minute on Sunday night after Chris Richards had fired the USMNT ahead after just four minutes.
In the end Edson Alvarez proved the hero for El Tri at NRG Stadium in Texas when he popped up with the game-winning goal 13 minutes from time.
The soccer world has been left devastated by the loss of Jota and his younger brother, with tributes pouring in since the heartbreaking news came to light on Thursday.
Fellow Portugal international Pedro Neto displayed a shirt in tributes to Diogo and Andre before Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Palmeiras at the Club World Cup this week, while other international colleagues Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves welled up with tears before Al-Hilal’s 2-1 defeat by Fluminense.
Nashville SC midfielder Hany Mukhtar also paid his respects by pulling out the gaming celebration after his dramatic 101st-minute winner against Philadelphia Union on Saturday night.
Jota had just married Rute Cardoso, the 28-year-old mother of his three children and partner since the age of 16, a fortnight before his tragic passing.
The Premier League winner had described himself as the luckiest man in the world to be her husband, sharing moving footage of their wedding day in his final Instagram post on Wednesday afternoon.
