In a sport of headers and constant collisions, a fractured jaw would seem like a tournament-ending injury.
Not so much at the 2026 World Cup.
Austria defender Stefan Posch and England defender Djed Spence stand out on the field for the black jaw braces they have been wearing in matches.
Players have long had to wear face protections for injuries like fractured cheek bones or broken noses.
Frances’ Kylian Mbappé wore a face mask during the 2024 European Championship after breaking his nose in the opening match. Former Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech wore a helmet for years after a near fatal collision and skull injury during a match.
The jaw braces Spence and Posch wear are custom-fit devices that wrap around the back of the neck, over the top of the head and under the chin to keep the jaw stable through the wear and tear of a game.
Spence wears his after suffering a fractured jaw in one of Tottenham’s final matches of the Premier League season, when he took a flying elbow to the face on a header.
Instead of surgery that might knock him off the World Cup squad, Spence opted for the brace. Before the tournament, he called it uncomfortable, but necessary.
“Luckily I play football with my feet and not my jaw. So I was all good,” Spence said before the World Cup.
He has played in all four England games so far, and started the round of 32 win over Congo. England plays Mexico on Sunday in the round of 16.
Posch had little time to adjust to his new headgear. He was injured in a collision with a Jordan defender in Austria’s 3-1 win in first match of the tournament.
Austria feared it would lose him for the rest of the World Cup, but two trips to Los Angeles to get fitted for the brace had him back on the pitch in time for the next match against Argentina.
Posch’s tournament ended Thursday with Austria’s 3-0 loss Spain.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Spain's Marc Cucurella (24) falls as he clashes with Austria's Stefan Posch during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Congo's Brian Cipenga dribbles past England's Djed Spence during a World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Atlanta, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Austria's Stefan Posch reacts during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match against Spain in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
HAMDEN, Ohio (AP) — Just days after authorities removed 16 children from a squalid home and arrested four adult relatives, the question looms over their southern Ohio village: How could this have happened, for years, unnoticed, right here?
Neighbors of the family in tiny Hamden, employees at local stores where they shopped and even the investigators who responded to the scene have been left to wonder that aloud and to themselves, and the limited information shared by investigators doesn't offer a full answer.
The children weren't enrolled in school, the family moved around over the past two decades, and neighbors said they’d never spotted the kids. The children remained mostly confined to a small room in the house, investigators said, under deplorable conditions.
“Right under our noses and nobody was able to help them sooner,” said Emily Collins, 27, owner of VC Farm & Floral in nearby McArthur. “It’s just crazy that all the wonderful things going on in our little Hallmark town and this is what puts us on the radar. It’s really sad,” said the mother of three, who was compelled to decorate the sidewalk with bright flowers and stars drawn in chalk to cheer herself up.
Authorities said they had gone to the home Tuesday on an unrelated investigation and discovered the children — ages 1 1/2 to 18 years old — some of whom were unable to speak.
Seven were taken to hospitals, including one who was in critical condition, investigators said. Their current conditions weren't immediately known Thursday. Child welfare officials have temporary custody of the children.
A man who lives three houses down from the Siders family said he had seen “no kids at all” there.
“It’s a sad situation,” said Joseph Stewart, 60, who has lived in the “quiet neighborhood” for six years.
Four people who are the children’s parents and grandparents were arrested on child endangerment charges. Gary Siders Jr., 36, Gary Siders, 73, Elizabeth Siders, 33, and Christina Siders, 67, pleaded not guilty to child endangerment. Bond was set at $300,000 each.
An attorney for the elder Siders said he is presumed innocent.
“We ask that the community at large, as well as anyone who might have an interest in this case, to take a deep breath, step back, and let the case play out and the facts play out,” Dorian Baum told The Associated Press.
Attorneys for Siders Jr. and Christina Siders declined to comment. Messages seeking comment from Elizabeth Siders' lawyer were not immediately returned.
Authorities wouldn’t publicly share the nature of the other investigation that led them to the house Tuesday. However, court records show a warrant was issued for Siders Jr. that day on misdemeanor indecent exposure charges related to alleged incidents on four days in May. He has pleaded not guilty.
On Thursday, windows and doors at the formerly wide-open home, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southeast of Columbus, had been boarded up. Police tape and piles of refuse remained.
The previous day, a door was ajar and heaps of trash and children’s toys were visible inside. A wood deck and the backyard were filled with discarded tires, a high chair and other debris.
The house sits on a road tucked alongside a steep railroad embankment, where tracks carry rumbling trains to a rail yard in the village of fewer than 1,000 residents. The closest neighbors are separated by trees and thick brush, but the house is easily visible from the road.
Investigators said members of the family had moved around southern Ohio over the past two decades and that it looks like they avoided creating a medical or governmental paper trail. The Vinton County Local School District, the only district in the area, said it has no records indicating that any of the children were ever enrolled.
“These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said Wednesday.
The children’s absence from school, and the apparent lack of regular visits with medical professionals, likely contributed to keeping the dire situation unknown, said Jacqueline Yahn, an associate professor at Ohio University.
“When kids are isolated or not participating, you don’t have someone who’s trained to know the clues,” said Yahn, who specializes in rural education and poverty. “A well-check is called that for a reason: They’re checking for well-being and development.”
Investigators were reviewing whether the family was reported to any children’s services agencies in the past.
The children spent most of their time in a room that was roughly 12 feet by 12 feet (3.5 meters by 3.5 meters), according to investigators, who noted that human waste was all around.
“They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible,” Wilson said.
Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed.
Items including a high chair, left, are seen in a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Debris is strewn on the front lawn of a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Items including a high chair are seen in a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A bag of rice and a can of insect killer sit in an open window of a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Police tape surrounds a home where authorities say they removed 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
