No photographer got closer to Croatia's World Cup semi-final victory than AFP's Yuri Cortez who found himself right under the pile of jubilant players.
He happened to be working in the corner of the pitch in Moscow where Mario Mandzukic rushed to celebrate after scoring against England in extra time.
Teammates piled in after the man behind the winning goal and Cortez disappeared beneath the team.
"They just kept coming towards me and they fell on me!" he says.
Ever the professional, he picked up his camera and snapped the finalists close up, while colleagues in turn photographed the Salvadorean inside the pile.
Croatia beat England 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the World Cup final for the first time in their history.
"I was just changing my lens as the players ran towards me," the photographer told AFP news agency later.
"They were delighted. Then they suddenly realised that I was underneath them.
"The [players] asked me if I was OK. One picked up my lens and another player (Domagoj Vida) gave me a kiss."
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All photos subject to copyright.
No photographer got closer to Croatia's World Cup semi-final victory than AFP's Yuri Cortez who found himself right under the pile of jubilant players.
He happened to be working in the corner of the pitch in Moscow where Mario Mandzukic rushed to celebrate after scoring against England in extra time.
Teammates piled in after the man behind the winning goal and Cortez disappeared beneath the team.
"They just kept coming towards me and they fell on me!" he says.
Ever the professional, he picked up his camera and snapped the finalists close up, while colleagues in turn photographed the Salvadorean inside the pile.
Croatia beat England 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the World Cup final for the first time in their history.
"I was just changing my lens as the players ran towards me," the photographer told AFP news agency later.
"They were delighted. Then they suddenly realised that I was underneath them.
"The [players] asked me if I was OK. One picked up my lens and another player (Domagoj Vida) gave me a kiss."
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All photos subject to copyright.
