The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will probably be the last one for Cristiano Ronaldo and, considering the 26-man roster of Portugal, he could have a great chance to win the trophy for the first time. For many experts, this is the best squad ever assembled by the National Team with names such as Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes or Joao Cancelo. Many thought Diogo Jota would be one of them too after his great perfomances with Liverpool.
Portugal are on Group H and will face very complicated rivals: Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea. Furthermore, at least in the Round of 16, there could be looming a thriller with Brazil. You can check all those possible combinations in our 2022 World Cup Predictor.
Portugal claimed a spot for their sixth consecutive World Cup, but, they have never won the title. So, with Cristiano Ronaldo as their leader, everyone expected manager Fernando Santos would bring a superb squad to Qatar. Among those names was definitely a star on the rise: Diogo Jota. Now, that dream is over for him.
Why is Diogo Jota missing the Qatar 2022 World Cup?
On October 18, 2022, Diogo Jota received the worst possible news. The striker had been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar because of a calf injury. That injury happened two days earlier during the last minutes of a Premier League matchup against Manchester City. Then, in a very emotional press conference, Liverpool's manager, Jürgen Klopp, made the announcement.
"Really not good news. Yes, he will miss the World Cup (Diogo Jota). Pretty serious injury in the calf muscle. That's it pretty much. Very sad news for the boy, for us as well and for Portugal. I don't want to put a time on his return. It will be a long time", said Klopp that day.
Though Diogo Jota didn't require any surgery, the time for rehabilitation made it impossible for him to be in the 2022 World Cup. At 25-years old, Jota was one of the key pieces for Portugal after scoring 10 goals in 20 caps and, most importantly, establishing himself as a good partner in attack with Cristiano Ronaldo. "After such a good night in Anfield, mine ended in the worst way. In the last minute, one of my dreams collapsed. I will be one more supporting from the outside and fighting to be back as soon as possible", were the words from Diogo Jota after learning the news.
