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- Mexico's Raúl Jiménez honors former teammate Diogo Jota after scoring goal against USMNT in Gold Cup final</p>
<p>Kari AndersonJuly 6, 2025 at 9:36 PM</p>
<p>In a high-stakes Gold Cup final between the United States and Mexico, a first-half equalizer led to a touching tribute. As Mexico striker Raúl Jiménez scored a game-tying goal in the 27th minute, the forward took a moment to honor his former teammate, Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash on Thursday.</p>
<p>After the goal, Jiménez grabbed a jersey with Jota's name and his No. 20, laying it on his lap. He then mimed playing video games — a signature celebration for Jota — to pay tribute to his friend.</p>
<p>Jiménez, who currently plays for Fulham, was teammates with Jota at Wolverhampton, with the two overlapping for two seasons.</p>
<p>Raúl Jiménez pays tribute to Diogo Jota after his goal for Mexico ❤️Jiménez and Jota were teammates at Wolverhampton 🎮(via @FOXSoccer)pic.twitter.com/mg9dnkXBjA</p>
<p>— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 6, 2025</p>
<p>Jiménez spoke about Jota on Saturday ahead of the Gold Cup final.</p>
<p>"He was a great teammate who was with me for two years there at Wolves, with whom I regularly kept in touch," Jiménez said. "We shared very beautiful moments."</p>
<p>Jiménez's goal evened things up for Mexico after an early USMNT goal from defender Chris Richards in the fourth minute.</p>
<p>RAUL JIMENEZ LEVELS THE SCORE FOR MEXICO 🇲🇽GAME. ON. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6sIe0ZDL5G</p>
<p>— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 6, 2025</p>
<p>In the 77th minute, midfielder Edson Álvarez gave Mexico the 2-1 lead, off a shot that was initially called offside before eventually being ruled legal. That held as the final score, and the win gave Mexico its second straight Gold Cup title.</p>
<p>Jota's death reverberated throughout the soccer community, with numerous players paying tribute to the Liverpool and Portugal forward throughout the weekend. Teams, including Portugal, held a moment of silence at the women's Euro 2025. Oasis, in their first concert in 16 years, showed an image of Jota in his Liverpool jersey, drawing a large response from the sold-out crowd.</p>
<p>At the Club World Cup match between Fluminese and Al-Hilal on Friday, a particularly poignant moment of silence became emotional for Al-Hilal defenders Rúben Neves and João Cancelo, two of Jota's Portuguese teammates; the pair went on to fly back to Portugal for Jota's funeral, with Neves serving as a pallbearer.</p>
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