Portugal carry Diogo Jota's memory into World Cup as Vitinha urges game-by-game focus

Portugal touched down in the United States on Friday evening carrying both the weight of World Cup favouritism and a deeply personal tribute to Diogo Jota, the Liverpool forward who died in a car crash in Spain last July.

Midfielder Vitinha spoke to reporters on Saturday before the squad’s first training session in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, revealing that each player had received a bracelet from Portugal’s Prime Minister bearing their own name alongside Jota’s. Coach Roberto Martínez has posthumously included Jota as an honorary member of the squad. “We have received this with a lot of love,” Vitinha said, gesturing to the green and red band on his wrist.

Despite Portugal being widely regarded as one of the favourites to lift their first-ever World Cup trophy, Vitinha was measured about the scale of expectation. “We have not talked about putting the high pressure on our team,” he said through a translator. “All competitions are won by focusing on the present moment and not worrying about future outcomes. What we can do is think game by game. We would love to win, and if we go through the group stage, we will go one game at a time.”

Portugal open their group stage campaign against Congo on 17 June in Houston. The squad, which includes Cristiano Ronaldo, was greeted by chanting fans at Saturday’s session, with Ronaldo leading the team in acknowledging the crowd’s support.

The Florida heat — temperatures reached the upper 80s Fahrenheit, around 31-32 Celsius — immediately presented a challenge, one that has been a recurring concern across the tournament’s 16 host cities. Vitinha acknowledged the conditions but refused to treat them as an obstacle unique to Portugal. “The weather conditions will very much affect how we play, but that is for everybody,” he said. “With the temperatures in the United States, Mexico and Canada, it is very different, but it is the world championship. There are no excuses. There are no conditions that can keep us from giving everything for our national team.”

Players were seen hydrating regularly throughout the session and appeared to cope relatively well with the humidity, though the physical demands of the expanded 48-team format across three countries will test every squad across the tournament.