REST IN PEACE

Soccer Journalist Grant Wahl’s Body and Belongings Returned to the U.S.

Wahl, who had written just days prior about how a nearly two-week illness had broken down his body, died on Friday of unknown causes while covering the World Cup.

The body and possessions of Grant Wahl, the well-reputed soccer journalist who died suddenly while covering the World Cup in Qatar, was returned on Monday, according to the State Department. Accompanied by a consular official from the U.S. Embassy in Doha, the 49-year-old’s remains arrived in John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York around 8:30 a.m. ET. Wahl, who had written about feeling ill just days prior, shocked soccer fans around the world when he suddenly collapsed while live-tweeting a match between Argentina and the Netherlands on Friday. Nearby witnesses recalled a mad dash to save the journalist’s life, criticizing the “state-of-the-art” stadium for failing to provide adequate medical equipment, like a defribrillator. “I so appreciated Grant Wahl, whose writing captured not only the essence of the beautiful game but also the world around it,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter. “I send my deepest condolences to his family, and thank our Embassy team and Qatari partners who worked together so effectively to fulfill their wishes.”