Diogo Costa: "I'd trade my performance for a win; we lacked luck"

Diogo Costa was a standout performer for Portugal at the 2026 World Cup, delivering a top-tier display despite the loss to Spain. However, he expressed regret over the early elimination in the round of 16, suggesting that the National Team lacked "luck" to succeed in Dallas.

"I always believed I could help once more, but I couldn't this time. We lacked a bit of luck – a shot hitting the post, a ball just wide of the goal. You need luck sometimes. Our attitude was excellent, very positive; we gave our best in terms of effort, demands, and mental preparation. I think we gave our all, but we just missed that touch of luck," he began, speaking to RTP, affirming that the goal was to win the World Cup for Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva.

"For me, winning is the most important thing. I know I need my teammates on the field to win. I would have traded my performance for a victory. We are very sad. Could we have been world champions? Absolutely, we had the quality for it, but for one reason or another, we couldn't achieve it. What we did was always give our best, physically and mentally, to show our country... we really wanted to dedicate this World Cup to two special people for us. We couldn't, and we are much sadder because of that. It hurts," he admitted, downplaying a potential summer departure from FC Porto.

"Firstly, I think my focus is always on the present. This happens every year; it's something I've grown accustomed to. I'm very happy at FC Porto, but right now, I'm very sad that we lost. The ball just didn't go in; there were opportunities on both sides. They scored, and we lacked that ability to finish our chances. We had a generation capable of winning, we had everything to do better, but it wasn't possible. Life goes on," he concluded.