2026 World Cup Key News Central News Agency (CNA Toronto, July 2) - Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo said that Portugal's victory over Croatia today to advance to the Round of 16 was a "coincidence of life" as it was nearly a year since his former teammate Diogo Jota passed away. He wore Jota's No. 21 jersey for interviews after the match. According to AFP, after Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates narrowly defeated Croatia 2-1 today to help Portugal advance to the World Cup Round of 16, they took a commemorative photo holding Jota's No. 21 jersey. Ronaldo said, "It's a coincidence of life, unbelievable. We knew before the game. It's a very special moment. The whole team talked about it today, a coincidence of life, truly unbelievable." After the match, Ronaldo also wore the No. 21 jersey for his interview. Portugal's head coach Roberto Martinez said the victory held special significance. He said, "Today is a very happy day for Portuguese fans because we advanced to the next stage, into the top 16, and also because this match has meaning. It's been a year since we paid tribute to Jota." On July 3 last year, Jota, who played for Liverpool, died in a car accident with his brother Andre Silva while driving in Spain, as he was preparing to return to England for pre-season training. Earlier in this tournament, before Portugal's first match against the Democratic Republic of Congo, a black and white photo of Jota was shown on the giant screen at the stadium in Houston, USA. (Translated by Zhang Xiaowen) 1150703 Stand with facts, your every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom Download the CNA "First-Hand News" APP to get the latest news in real-time No reproduction, public broadcast, public transmission, or use of the text, images, and videos on this website is permitted without authorization.