Diogo Jota’s widow has urged Scotland captain Andrew Robertson to carry his former Liverpool team-mate in his heart when he lives their dream of playing at the World Cup.
Jota died aged 28 in a car crash last July, after helping Portugal secure World Cup qualification.
Jota, won 49 caps but never played at a World Cup after missing the 2022 tournament through a calf injury.
“I couldn’t get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today,” defender Robertson said after Scotland secured World Cup qualification in November.
“We spoke so much about going to the World Cup because he missed the last one with Portugal and I did with Scotland. I know he’ll be smiling over me today.”
In a letter to Robertson published by Fifa, Rute Cardoso, the mother of Jota’s three children, said: “Diogo often spoke of you. 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 realised 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.
“That’s how we do it here at home too. Every day. He would be, and is, incredibly proud of you. Cherish that dream, Andy. Live it for yourself and for him.”
Robertson was filmed by Fifa reading out the letter and thanked Cardoso, saying it would stay with him for a “very long time”.
The World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July.
Scotland, playing in their first World Cup since 1998, face Haiti on Sunday, Morocco on 19 June and Brazil on 24 June in Group C.
Robertson, who has joined Tottenham since leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, said: “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.
“I’m not only just playing for me. I’m playing for both of us.”