Cristiano Ronaldo tribute on anniversary of ex-Wolves striker Diogo Jota's death

Cristiano Ronaldo and the rest of the Portugal squad paid a touching tribute to the late Diogo Jota on the first anniversary of his death.

The former Portugal, Wolves and Liverpool forward Jota died in a car accident in Spain aged just 28, alongside his brother Andre Silva, in July last year.

Ronaldo had equalised from the spot for Portugal midway into the second half, before Goncalo Ramos scored a 94th-minute winner in a dramatic round of 32 tie against Croatia.

At full-time, a tearful Ronaldo changed into a special ‘21’ shirt in honour of Jota - who scored 14 goals in 49 caps for Portugal.

The team then came together with the shirt held aloft, while Jota’s image appeared on the big screen in Toronto towards the end of Portugal’s national anthem before the game.

“A great happiness because it was a tribute to him [Jota],” Ronaldo told reporters afterwards.

“It was special because we won. We continue to the next round, we wanted that and we paid tribute in the best possible way.”

He continued: “It has been exactly a year since he left us. We wanted to win for him as well and he will always be with us.”

Jota scored 44 goals in 131 appearances for Wolves and helped them lift the Championship title in 2018.

He went on to score 65 times in 182 games for Liverpool - winning the Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.