Portugal faces Armenia and Hungary in the coming days (September 6 and 9) as part of World Cup qualifiers, the first international break of the season. The gathering of the Portuguese squad was very emotional as they paid tribute to Diogo Jota, the 25-year-old forward from Liverpool FC who went on to make 49 appearances for Portugal, including winning Nations League just weeks before his death.
In the training camp, his teammates gathered to remember Jota and his brother André Silva, who perished in a car crash in Spain. A statue of a bronze shirt with Jota's 21 number was revealed, and his family was given a special medal, in an act with Portuguese President and Prime Minister.
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His bronze statue was placed alongside Jorge Costa's, former Porto captain and sporting director who died last month at 53.
Among his teammates, Ruben Neves delivered a speech, saying that Jota will still be with them "even if he's signed a contract a little farther from home. "When we join the national team, you'll still be with us, at the dinner table, on the bus, on the plane. Always by our side, just like you've always been. We'll keep laughing, making plans and sharing life the way we always have.
We'll make sure you're never missing from our lives and that your loved ones have everything they need while you're away, thinking of us, waiting for us. Life brought us together and nothing can break that bond."
While the black suits didn't show it, when he later went to the training pitch, he showed a special tattoo in his calf depicting Neves embracing Jota on the pitch.