'Difficult day' for Al Hila's Portugal pair
The 28-year-old Jota died alongside his younger brother Andre after their vehicle veered off a motorway in northern Spain before bursting into flames on Thursday.
"We all know it's a sad day because of what happened to Diogo and Andre, unfortunately, these are things that shouldn't happen, which happened," said the Italian.
"As we are all aware, we have two Portuguese players, Ruben Neves and Cancelo, who were very close to the guys. Clearly today was a difficult day for everyone. We tried to work but clearly, the atmosphere today was not the same as other days. It was a tragedy," he added.
Al Hilal left-back Moteb Al Alharbi said the team had tried to be supportive to the Portuguese pair.
"From the moment we woke up today we were shocked by the news. They are team-mates of his and we all felt the sadness but we were all around them. I also believe they will be ready although they have this shocking news," he said.
'They were not at their best emotionally but I believe they will be focused for the game," added Saudi winger Khalid Alghannam.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Erratic Alcaraz battles into Wimbledon fourth round
Alcaraz made 28 unforced errors in an inconsistent display on Centre Court but conjured enough moments of magic to eventually subdue the world number 125 and book his place in the last 16. The world number two had been pushed to the brink in a five-set win over 38-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini in the first round and looked below his best again in a second-round victory over British amateur Oliver Tarvet. After grinding out his latest underwhelming win, the Spaniard has plenty of room for improvement. "I knew it was going to be really difficult. I had to be really focused. His game suits the grass with the big serves," Alcaraz said. "It's stressful. To be honest, I was suffering in every service game today, 0-30, break points down. "I'm really pleased that I was fighting, running for every ball and making great shots." In contrast to Alcaraz's laboured efforts, world number one Jannik Sinner -- his main rival at the All England Club -- has dropped just 12 games in his first two matches. It is hardly time for Alcaraz to panic, however. He has won his past 21 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club. The 22-year-old, who fought back from two sets down to beat Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, has won 32 of his 35 Tour-level matches on grass. The five-time Grand Slam winner's last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022. "He pushed me and it was just about surviving. I'm surprising I'm standing here after four sets," Alcaraz said of the hard-hitting Struff. Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons. He hopes to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and seven-time champion Djokovic. Having fretted about his misfiring serve in the first two matches of his title defence, it was a worrying moment for Alcaraz when he started the match with a double-fault. The Spaniard managed to win that game and quickly broke Struff's serve twice to wrap up the opening set in just 27 minutes. Alcaraz looked in complete control when he broke again early in the second set. Yet his serve woes suddenly returned as he was broken in the next game and again in the eighth, allowing the 35-year-old to level the match. Alcaraz, then still a precocious teenager, had to come from two sets to one down to beat Struff in the Wimbledon first round in 2022. He was not in quite such a perilous position this time, but the Spaniard was still relieved to take the third set after landing the crucial break in the second game. Alcaraz was pushed hard in the fourth set before at last delivering the knockout blow.
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Sweden beat rivals Norway at Women's Euro 2025
Filippa Angeldahl scored Sweden's winner in the 55th minute in Geneva after exchanging passes with Kosovare Asllani and firing into the far corner. Sweden should have doubled their lead 10 minutes later when Madelen Janogy headed Hanna Lundkvist's pinpoint cross narrowly wide, while moments before Stina Blackstenius was denied by Frederikke Thogersen's brilliant goalline clearance. Peter Gerhardsson's team are now unbeaten in 13 games after a second straight win over the Danes, with Sweden running out emphatic 6-1 winners in the Nations League last month. Sweden kept a tight handle on Denmark's skipper Pernille Harder, although she did smash an effort off the crossbar with nine minutes remaining. The Bayern Munich forward was also involved when VAR decided not to award a penalty to Denmark in the opening minutes for a potential handball by Madelen Janogy, who was marking Parder. © 2025 AFP
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Portugal and football world mourn Liverpool forward Diogo Jota
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro joined members of Diogo Jota's family for a private wake on Friday in the Liverpool footballer's hometown in northern Portugal following his death alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in Spain. Jota's longtime agent Jorge Mendes was also seen joining the family that included wife Rute Cardoso, who had married the footballer just weeks earlier. Montenegro spent almost half an hour with the family before leaving without making a statement. A convoy of hearses carrying the bodies left for Gondomar near Porto on Thursday evening from the morgue of Puebla de Sanabria, near where the Lamborghini the brothers were traveling in had veered off the road and burst into flames after midnight on Thursday. Police said they suspected a tyre had burst. A public wake is expected to take place at a chapel in Gondomar from 4pm (15:00 GMT) and a funeral on Saturday at a church nearby at 10am local time, the office of Gondomar's mayor said. A truly 'wonderful, loving' soul: Diogo Jota's 'immense' impact on Liverpool remembered 10:43 The death of forward Jota at the age of 28 has jolted the world of football, with messages of homage pouring in from former teammates, clubs, national leaders and fans. Outside Liverpool's Anfield stadium fans left flowers, scarves and handwritten notes, many from children. "I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the (summer) break," Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah said on Instagram. "Teammates come and go but not like this. It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back," he added. Football clubs including Paris St Germain, who have several Portugal internationals in their squad, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Real Madrid observed a moment of silence during training for their matches at the Club World Cup in the United States. Mourning his friend Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said on Thursday that forward Pedro Neto was weighing whether to play in Friday's quarter-final against Palmeiras, as the Portuguese international mourns the tragic death of his close friend. Jota's manager at Liverpool, Arne Slot, said in a statement on Thursday that his thoughts were with his family. 'You'll never walk alone': Football world mourns Diogo Jota 06:58 "My message to them is very clear – you will never walk alone," Slot said, using the words of the team's anthem. "For us as a club, the sense of shock is absolute. Diogo was not just our player. He was a loved one to all of us. He was a teammate, a colleague, a workmate and in all of those roles he was very special," the Dutchman added. In Gondomar, a town of about 160,000 people in the Porto metropolitan area that is known for artisanal gold and filigree jewelry, residents were struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of a local hero. At the Diogo Jota Academy in Gondomar – whose motto is "It's not important where we come from, but where we are going" – people placed candles, flowers and scarves and shirts from the various clubs he played for and from the Portuguese national team in tribute to the player. Jota opened the academy in 2022 for children aged 6-9 at the Gondomar Football Club where he himself played for 10 years as a child. It was at Gondomar's high school that he met his wife. They began dating aged 15 when in the same class and she became a pillar in his life. When they were 19, they moved to Madrid together, when Jota was transferred from the small Portuguese club Pacos de Ferreira to Atletico Madrid. "Besides being his girlfriend and best friend, I'm his number one fan," Cardoso told the newspaper 'A Bola' at the time. Jota was making his way back to Liverpool by car after he was told he should avoid plane travel for up to 6 weeks following lung surgery to address a fractured rib, his physiotherapist Miguel Goncalves told broadcaster Now late on Thursday. Goncalves said Jota was recovering well from the pneumothorax surgery and that he had planned to take a ferry to the UK from Spain.
