Diogo Jota’s widow wrote in a letter to Scotland captain Andy Robertson that she is confident her late husband will be in his “heart” as he takes the team out for their first World Cup encounter on Saturday.
Jota and Robertson were good friends during their time at Liverpool, but the former’s time there was cut short when he died in a vehicle accident in July at 28.
Robertson, who ended a trophy-laden nine-year career with Liverpool by signing for Tottenham Hotspur last Friday, paid tribute to Jota after the Scots qualified for the finals for the first time since 1998.
“We spoke so much about going to the World Cup because he missed the last one with Portugal and I did with Scotland,” Robertson said last November after the play-off win over Denmark.
“I know he’ll be smiling over me today.”
Rute Cardoso, the mother of Jota’s three children, stated in her letter, which FIFA shared alongside a video of Robertson reading it, that his words that night deeply moved her.
“When I heard your words and learned what you felt on that day when Scotland qualified for the World Cup, after so many years of waiting, I realized that Diogo never truly left the pitch,” wrote Cardoso, who married Jota days before he died alongside his brother Andre Silva.
“By achieving that moment and securing your place at the World Cup, you won’t be going alone.
“You’ll be taking his dream with you too. And when you step on to the pitch, I know it won’t just be you walking out. Diogo will be with you in your thoughts, in your steps, in your heart.
“So today, I want to thank you. Thank you for not forgetting him.
“Thank you for taking him with you. Thank you for turning the pain of loss into strength and into something so beautiful.
“That’s how we do it here at home too. Every day. He would be, and is, incredibly proud of you.
“Cherish that dream, Andy. Live it for yourself and for him.”
Robertson noted that Cardoso’s letter would stay with him for a “very long time.”
“I’ll carry him in my heart, and I know he’ll be with me come the first game, come the second game, come the third game, and hopefully beyond that,” said Robertson.
“He’s always there. The memories are always something that we bring up and sometimes laugh at and sometimes cry over.
“And that will be no different, especially going into a tournament, which is full of emotion. I know he’ll be right at the front of my mind.
“I’m not only just playing for me. I’m playing for both of us.”
Scotland open their campaign against Haiti on June 13 in Boston, followed by tougher dates with African champions Morocco, also in Boston on June 19, and five-time winners Brazil on June 24 in Miami.
