- Chelsea face Palmeiras in the last eight in Philadelphia on Friday night
- The game comes one day after the death of Liverpool star Diogo Jota
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Marc Cucurella told Pedro Neto that he believes it is his ‘destiny’ to score in their Club World Cup quarter-final versus Palmeiras on Friday in honour of Diogo Jota.
It is not guaranteed that Neto will feature as Chelsea are leaving it to the Portugal international to decide personally after the passing of his international team-mate.
But Cucurella told reporters at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday night: ‘In the morning he was sad and it was not his best moment. But we tried to stay together and in the afternoon, he was a bit better.
‘I told him that if he’s going to play then he will score because that is destiny. Hopefully we can show his love and all the good friends that we are and dedicate the goal to him.
‘It’s a bad moment. We send all our love to the family, the wife, the kids, and I do it from me, the whole Chelsea squad, and football. Football is not important at times like this. The most important thing is that we show respect and all our love.
‘I saw it as soon as I woke up. It was a difficult moment because these things can happen to all of us in any moment and then you start to think if you don’t feel good, or you don’t give 100 per cent, or feel s*** when these things happen, it’s important to be happy and live life every day.’
Marc Cucurella (right) told Pedro Neto that it is his ‘destiny’ to score against Palmeiras
Neto’s (L) friend and Portugal team-mate Diogo Jota (R) passed away following a car accident
On whether he expects Neto will be with the Chelsea squad against Palmeiras, Cucurella said: ‘I think so. The manager and he must decide but it’s important that Pedro feels good.
‘Football is secondary but it’s a long day tomorrow and whatever they decide will be good.
‘But right now he’s a player in form and I think Pedro can help us in this game.’
Neto has scored three goals in as many games at the Club World Cup for Chelsea, who are looking to beat Palmeiras to set up a semi-final with either Fluminense or Al-Hilal.
