NEW YORK, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Andrew Robertson will be carrying special memories with him when he leads Scotland out at the FIFA World Cup, after the widow of former Liverpool forward Diogo Jota urged him to carry his memory into the tournament.
Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a car crash in Spain in July 2025 as they were returning to Liverpool.
Jota played 49 times for Portugal, but never appeared at a World Cup, missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar with a muscle injury.
He and Robertson were close friends in the Liverpool dressing room, with Robertson saying that "we spoke so much about going to the World Cup because he missed the last one with Portugal and I did with Scotland."
Jota's widow, Rute Cardoso, has recognized the friendship between Robertson and her husband in a letter to the Scottish captain, which has been published by FIFA.
"Diogo often spoke of you," she wrote. "Of the friendship you built, the battles you fought together, the challenges, the laughter, the conversations about football... and about dreams."
"The World Cup was one of those dreams, a dream that the two of you nurtured, side by side, with the same passion with which you took to the pitch."
"When I heard your words and learnt 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."
"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," wrote Cardoso.
Robertson, who has now joined Tottenham Hotspur after his Liverpool contract expired at the end of the season, said the message would be 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."
"He's always there. The memories are always something that we bring up and sometimes laugh, sometimes cry 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," commented the defender.
Scotland opens its World Cup campaign against Haiti on June 13 and then faces Morocco and Brazil in Group C. ■