It has not been an easy week for the world of soccer in the wake of the deaths of Liverpool’s Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva. Yet the world’s game has come together in mourning across every corner of the globe.
As Mexico took on the U.S. men’s national team in the Concacaf Gold Cup final, striker Raúl Jiménez honored Jota ahead of kickoff, wearing “Diogo J” and Jota’s No. 20 as he walked out for the national anthems.
Later on, after scoring the equalizing goal for El Tri in the 27th minute, Jiménez pulled out the Jota jersey again and sat down to imitate Jota's iconic EA Sports FC video game celebration, following in the steps of Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé and Real Salt Lake’s Diogo Gonçalves, who also paid tribute amid celebrations.
Raúl Jiménez honors Diogo Jota after his goal for Mexico ❤️🎮
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 6, 2025
The two were teammates at Wolverhampton 🙏 pic.twitter.com/0FQz0uY6Uf
Jiménez and Jota crossed paths from 2018 to 2020 while playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in England before Jota moved to Liverpool and Jiménez signed with Fulham. Through their time with Wolverhampton, Jota scored 33 goals in 111 appearances, while Jimenez netted 39 times in 135 games.
The tribute joins a significant outpouring of support from around the world, which has included moments of silence before kickoffs in several leagues, as well as black armbands being worn from the football pitch all the way to the Wimbledon tennis tournament in England.
Raúl Jiménez has a supporter in us for life ❤️🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/xJ9gCJNWZJ
— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) July 6, 2025
In the Gold Cup final, Jiménez was seeking his fourth title with the Mexican national team, adding to a resume that already includes an Olympic gold medal, a Gold Cup title, and a Concacaf Nations League win. At the same time, a Gold Cup win would signify international trophies the same summer for the two former teammates given Jota won the UEFA Nations League with Portugal.
Following the Gold Cup, Jiménez will rejoin Fulham for preseason preparations ahead of the Premier League season, one that will undoubtedly be emotional across the league, particularly for the red side of Merseyside.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mexico's Raul Jimenez Honors Former Teammate Diogo Jota in Gold Cup Final.
