The Associated Press
As the World Cup nears its grand finale, its superheroes have been brought down on the field and in the stands.
Brazil’s Neymar was felled by a knee to his back that fractured a vertebra and left him out of the World Cup. In the stands, a Costa Rican superman and a U.S. Captain America were left dejected after their teams did not make it to the Cup semifinals.
Mexicans and Colombians cried as their teams went down in a blaze of glory, and the semifinals were reduced to the usual suspects as Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Holland advanced.
In Brazil, an unfinished bridge collapsed and prostitutes wore the national team’s colors to drum up business during the soccer’s largest event.
Beyond the World Cup, a poor family in Guatemala found out that their teenage son died while trekking to the United Stated looking for a better life. In Honduras, meanwhile, rescuers tried to reach workers trapped by a cave-in at a mine.
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