It was a soccer player’s worst nightmare. With seconds left in a World Cup semifinal, Laura Bassett of England lunged for the ball and accidentally kicked it into her own net.
Seconds later, the whistle blew. Japan had won, 2-1, and Bassett and many other England players were left in tears. And members of the sometimes vicious British news media sharpened their pens and offered ... sympathy?
The most common word in newspaper headlines was “heartbreak,” and photos of the weeping Bassett dominated.
“England Women Have Done Their Country Proud,” The Times of London wrote.