Football journalist Grant Wahl dies while covering the World Cup in Qatar

Grant Wahl, famed sportswriter and football analyst for CBS Sports, died early Saturday morning while he was covering the World Cup in Qatar. He was 48 years old.

According to the , Wahl collapsed in the media box during the quarter-final game of the Argentina-Netherlands World Cup and was treated by paramedics for 30 minutes before being taken to hospital. He was pronounced dead on Saturday morning. The cause of death is unknown.

The United States Soccer Federation confirmed Wahl's death in a statement posted to social media, writing "The entire United States. The football family is heartbroken to learn that we have lost Grant Wahl. Fans of the highest quality football and journalism knew we could always count on Grant to deliver. insightful and entertaining stories about our game and its main protagonists: teams, players, coaches and the many personalities who make football a different sport.

Wahl's wife, Celine Gounder, quoted the U.S. Soccer post on Twitter, saying that she is "so grateful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl's football family and so many friends who reached out tonight. I'm completely in shock."

This year's competition marked Wahl's eighth time covering the World Cup. On November 21, Wahl came to international attention when he was refused entry to the United States-Wales game for wearing a rainbow jersey. “Earlier: the security guard refuses to let me enter the stadium for USA-Wales. ‘You have to change your shirt. It's not allowed,” on Twitter.

Born in Mission, Kansas, Wahl graduated from Princeton University in 1996. He worked as a Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated, covering Major League Soccer and the U.S. National Team, as well as a correspondent for Fox Sports. In 2007 he published a bestselling book on David Beckham titled "The Beckham Experiment", followed by "Masters of Modern Soccer: How the World's Best Play the Twenty-First-Century Game" in 2018. Most recently Wahl was an analyst football for CBS Sports and editorial consultant for Paramount+ football documentaries.

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