- AFP Mexico chief photographer Yuri Cortez was stampeded by Croatian players when they scored a go-ahead goal in extra time of their semi-final against England.
- Despite Cortez being at the bottom of the pile, he continued to snap pictures, and the results were terrific.
- The players quickly tended to Cortez and made him part of the celebration once they realized he was OK.
A photographer covering the World Cup inadvertently became part of a celebration, and the result was incredible.
Yuri Cortez is a chief photographer for AFP Mexico and when Croatia scored their semi-final-winning goal in the 109th minute against England, he was in both the wrong place and the right place at the right time.
As the Croatian side celebrated the monumental goal, they moved towards an area of the sideline that did not have a barrier between the field and the photographers covering the game.
As more players piled on, they crashed into the photographers.
It was quickly evident that one photographer did not get out of the way in time and ended up on the bottom of the pile. That is Cortez under the Croatian pile, and amazingly, it appeared that he was still snapping pictures with one of his cameras.
The results were amazing.
AFP posted a few of the photographs on social media.
This is what it looks like when you get mobbed by celebrating Croatian players #WorldCup
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 11, 2018
📷 @YuriYuriskypic.twitter.com/5WWgrNgXXQ
#WorldCup#CRO#ENG#CROENG
— Frédérique Geffard (@fgeffardAFP) July 11, 2018
Croatia's forward Mario Mandzukic offers to help AFP photographer Yuri Cortez @YuriYurisky after he fell on him with teammates while celebrating their second goal
📷 @YuriYurisky@jewelsamad#AFPpic.twitter.com/JT1ATYZWPe
The Croatian players were quick to tend to Cortez. Once it appeared that he was OK, they even started to celebrate with him, and helped him to his feet.
Domagoj Vida even gave Cortez a kiss.
More World Cup coverage:
- The most mesmerizing photos from the World Cup so far
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- Cristiano Ronaldo: How the biggest sports star on the planet makes and spends his millions
- Can you spot the famous soccer stars in this World Cup brainteaser?
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