Feel Good

Russia has a lot of problems. The country denies civil rights to sexual minorities and political dissidents and is rife with racism. The nation has invaded sovereign nations three times in the last decade and meddles with countless other countries. But listening to the Russian national anthem before the World Cup quarterfinal match against Croatia on Saturday was a sign of just how patriotic the host nation is this summer.

The final quarterfinal match featured two of the best national anthems we’ve heard sung at the tournament thus far. 

Rescuers found the missing soccer team in Thailand late Monday local time after a nine day search and rescue operation. Twelve members of the Wild Boar soccer team, ranging in age from 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach had not been seen since June 23.

Some of the team's belongings were spotted outside the cave the day they disappeared. The boys and their coach were exploring popular caves in the Chiang Rai province in northern Thailand. They navigated beyond warning signs that are posted deeper inside the cave network. 

Collin Martin, a 23-year-old Minnesota United midfielder, announced via Twitter that he is gay on Friday morning. 

The announcement makes Martin the only active openly gay male athlete in major U.S. professional sports. LA Galaxy winger Robbie Rogers had previously held that mantle, but he retired in November. 

Costa Rica lost two tough matches to start the 2018 World Cup. The 2014 quarterfinalist was a few moments away from earning two draws but instead took two losses. But the Switzerland vs Costa Rica match finished 2-2, giving Los Ticos a deserved point from their stay in Russia, even if it came thanks to an odd own goal.

Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player to ever appear in the World Cup. Then he made the best save of the 2018 World Cup. 

Essam El-Hadary, Egypt’s 45-year-old goalkeeper, made his World Cup debut in the Pharaohs’ dead rubber against Saudi Arabia on Monday. Neither team could advance as both had lost their matches against Russia and Uruguay.

We thought it was a myth, like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster or common-sense politics. Romelu Lukaku proved us wrong.

This past week the World Cup was infested with simulation and deceit, including from two of the world’s best players. Cristiano Ronaldo argued for VAR after flopping in the box; Neymar dove only for VAR to overturn the duped referee’s decision.