Bosnia’s starting lineup is also a map of its war

BELGRADE, Serbia — The nearly four-year Bosnian war in the 1990s set off a massive wave of displacement, with a third of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s pre-war population permanently leaving the country as refugees. Team captain Edin Džeko, a 40-year-old striker who left his native Sarajevo soon after the war, has recalled playing soccer in the…

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Birthright citizens score

The scorer of the opening American goal against Bosnia, Folarin Balogun, is eligible to play for the United States only because airline employees in New York kept his pregnant mother from returning to London until her son was born. As our Riya Misra wrote recently, it makes Balogun not only the leader of a reinvigorated…

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Why the World Cup is a royal affair

Spotted at World Cup matches so far: King Felipe VI from Spain, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima from the Netherlands, and Norway’s Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. The European royals have been out in force supporting their national teams. Hardly spotted yet: Europe’s elected leaders. European heads of government only tend to make…

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Colorado’s insurgent wave proves Democrats want fighters

An anti-establishment avalanche blanketed Colorado on Tuesday night. Across the Centennial State, the candidates who cast themselves as fighters against the old-line Democratic establishment soared to victory — the clearest proof yet that the base’s fury at their leaders extends far beyond the five boroughs, following insurgents’ major victories in New York City last week….

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