Dom Phillips Samantha Schmidt Brian Murphy The Washington Post

It was the culmination of an astonishing climb to the top of South America's soccer world - a modest club from Brazil heading to the finals of a continent-wide tournament. Then came a distress call from the cockpit of the plane carrying the team to Colombia.

It was the culmination of an astonishing climb to the top of South America's soccer world - a modest club from Brazil heading to the finals of a continent-wide tournament. Then came a distress call from the cockpit of the plane carrying the team to Colombia.