Eustáquio: “Losing Diogo Jota was tough, but the memories live on” | OneFootball

Canada faces Romania this Friday in a friendly match, and Stephen Eustáquio recalled his debut for the U21 national team alongside Diogo Jota, who was then the captain of that squad.

The debut took place on November 10, 2017, on Romanian soil. At the time, the now senior international for Canada shared the “hopes team” locker room with a highly talented generation, which included players like Rúben Dias, João Félix, and Rafael Leão, in addition to Diogo Jota.

“We didn’t actually play in Bucharest, but it was in Romania and we drew 1-1. I remember we had great players. Rúben, Leão, Félix, and Diogo, who, if I’m not mistaken, was our captain. It was a great team, it was a pleasure to play there,” Eustáquio recalled in statements to OneSoccer, before addressing the passing of Diogo Jota.

“Losing Diogo was very hard. It’s one of those pieces of news that no one wants to receive. I was on vacation, there were two or three days left before it ended. It was a kind of wake-up call, reminding us that bad things can happen to anyone. We have to make the most of life. Diogo didn’t do anything wrong, it was a very unfortunate event. But the memories stay with us and he was an incredible person,” he said.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.