Jayden Adams, 25, a midfielder from South Africa, looked like he was at the wrong funeral while his teammates jumped around as if they had won the lottery. They qualified for the World Cup round of 32. Everyone shouted, hugged each other, threw themselves onto the grass. He sat there, staring somewhere between the bench and nowhere.
People on social media did what people on social media always do: they came up with theories. Maybe he was feuding with the coach, maybe he was not in the starting lineup, maybe he is simply one of those people who do not smile even at Christmas. No one imagined that Jayden was carrying news that arrived midway through the tournament. His grandmother had passed away. And even so, he kept playing, match after match, carrying South Africa on his shoulders and grief inside.
When the real reason came out, everyone’s joke froze in their mouths. It turns out that the hardest smile to fake is the one that is supposed to come naturally.