FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 27, 2025 Liverpool's Diogo Jota celebrates after winning the Premier League REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
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BERN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Portugal players were heartbroken ahead of their Women's Euro 2025 game against Spain on Thursday where a minute's silence will be observed following the death of Portuguese national men's team striker Diogo Jota in a car accident.
"One of our own," Portugal forward Jessica Silva posted on Instagram. "Diogo wasn't just a star. 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."
UEFA announced that a moment of silence will be observed at all of Thursday and Friday's Women's Euro 2025 matches "in memory of Portugal international and Liverpool FC forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva who tragically passed away today," European soccer's governing body said on Thursday.
The PortugueseFootball Federation (FPF) said in a statement on Thursday that it had requested a minute's silence before the game against Spain.
Hours before kick-off, virtually every player on the Portugal women's squad had posted photos of Jota on social media, many with broken heart emojis.
Veteran defender Ana Borges, who is the most capped player in the women's national team's history, wrote "Descansem em paz" -- rest in peace -- under a photo of both brothers.
Pedro Proenca, President of the FPF, gave a brief statement in Bern saying that 28-year-old Jota was "Much more than a fantastic player.
"With almost 50 appearances for the National A Team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all his teammates and opponents, someone with a contagious joy and a reference in his own community," Proenca said.
Portugal and Spain are set to meet in Bern at 2100 CET (1900 GMT) in their first Group B game.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor in Bern, Lori Ewing in Zurich; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Ken Ferris)
