England, Sweden, Japan Send Well Wishes to Thai Football Team Trapped in Cave

Ahead of their FIFA World Cup quarter-final on Saturday, members of the England and Sweden teams have sent their best wishes to members of a Thai youth football team who are currently trapped in a cave system.

As reported by BBC, 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach are stranded four kilometres from the mouth of the cave, having been found safe by divers on Monday.

Per ESPN, footage showed one of the boys was wearing an England shirt.

"We're hoping and wishing that they get out safe and sound," Three Lions defender John Stones said on Thursday, per ESPN. "Everyone, their friends and families, all of the boys (here), all the England squad, all our thoughts are with them."

Sweden midfielder Sebastian Larsson echoed those sentiments. "All you can do in any situation like that is just pray for them," said the AIK man.

The Japan squad that competed at the World Cup also put out a message of support on their Twitter account:

Japanese Football Association president Kohzo Tashima praised the players for putting a positive message out.

"Japanese players have grown to be able to do these kinds of things naturally, and I realize that Japanese soccer is becoming mature," he said, per ESPN. "I would like to pray with everyone here so that they are safely rescued."

CNN provided the most recent footage of the youngsters, who range between 11 and 16 years old, and their coach confirming that they are safe:

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is another who sent his best wishes to the footballers:

The Times posted a diagram outlining the complexities that'd accompany a potential rescue of the 13 at this moment in time:

As noted by the BBC report, the group have been trapped for 10 days and are currently in a safe position in the cave, where water is being pumped from. However, a monsoon is forecast for Sunday that may potentially jeopardise the rescue effort and leave them stranded for months.

"We are calculating how much time we have it if rains, how many hours and days," said Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn, per the same report, also admitting they are "racing against the water."

According to ITV News, the boys asked those who discovered them on Monday: "Who's in the quarter-finals of the World Cup?"