The 2018 men's FIFA World Cup is coming towards the final 4 games. The 2 semifinals match, where the winners advance to the finals and the losers play to be recognized as the third best team in the tournament. Instead of breaking down Belgium vs France or England vs Croatia as most articles will tend to do I want to focus on three stories that caught my attention. These 3 stories are not related nor have an agenda as their are other stories that occurred that are just as fascinating to others. What these stories to share is that they are related to the World Cup except they don't necessarily involve the game itself.
Mikel John Obi is a Nigerian player who has represented Nigeria in multiple international tournaments for his country. It was revealed that before Obi played the third group stage match against Argentina his father had been kidnapped. Obi's father was rescued from his captors, but was sent to the hospital for medical treatment.
Switzerland playing against Serbia in a group stage match doesn't really excite most fans from the stateside. But those who enjoy international politics were in quite of a treat. The split of Yugoslavia was not pretty and tension has remained in the post years. Two Switzerland players, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, celebrated their goals by using their hands to make a two headed eagle. A symbol that is on the Albanian flag. Both players have ties to Kosovo due to their ethnic Albanian heritage. Kosovo is a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Tension remains high between Serbia and Kosovo as Serbia doesn't recognize it as an independent state.
The third story involves a Croatian player. Croatia's defender, Domagoj Vida, scored the goal to give Croatia the lead in extra time against Russia. Croatia went on to win the match in penalty kicks. Vida posted a video with his former Dynamo Kiev teammate shouting "Glory to Ukraine" which is used as an anti-Russian slogan in Ukraine. FIFA has warned the Croatian defender.
Their are plenty of stories, a lot more uplifting, than these three stories that have come out of the world cup. I picked these stories not to set an agenda nor distract from the amazing tournament it has been this far, but to show that the game is so much more than just a 90 minute game. It is what makes the World Cup so fascinating. It is a gathering of fans all around the world to celebrate the beautiful game and cheer for their team that includes everything, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
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