Corona shock at the German national soccer team: Before the end of the year, a player tested positive for the corona virus despite a full vaccination. Four other professionals are in quarantine as contact person 1 in the team hotel by order of the health department despite a negative test. This was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) on Tuesday morning without naming the person.
According to SID information, the player who tested positive was Niklas Süle from Munich. According to Bavarian radio his contacts Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry (all also FC Bayern) and Karim Adeyemi (Red Bull Salzburg) are already on their way home.
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DFB team will play against Liechtenstein on Thursday
“This news is very bitter so shortly before the final two games in World Cup qualification – for the coaching team as well as for the entire team. But health comes first, of course. I wish the player who tested positively a speedy recovery and that he remains symptom-free” said DFB director Oliver Bierhoff before the World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein on Thursday (8.45 p.m. / RTL) in Wolfsburg and three days later in Armenia.
The number of corona infections has recently risen sharply nationwide, said Bierhoff: “That is why we are consistently implementing the hygiene and behavioral rules during the last international match of the year in order to act as responsibly as possible in the current infection situation.”
Bierhoff and team doctor Prof. Dr. Tim Meyer will speak in detail at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. In the morning, the DFB canceled the training session scheduled for 11 a.m. on the premises of Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.
Instead, an individual session took place in the five-star Hotel Ritz-Carlton on the Mittelland Canal under the direction of national coach Hansi Flick. The game against Liechtenstein should take place as planned.
Vaccination debate about Joshua Kimmich
Before the start of the World Cup qualification against Iceland in March, Jonas Hofmann from Gladbach had already tested positive for the corona virus. Marcel Halstenberg, as a category 1 contact person, also had to go into quarantine.
Most recently, the vaccination debate about Joshua Kimmich caused a stir. The Bayern professional had stated that he had not yet been vaccinated because of concerns about the long-term consequences. Flick and Bierhoff supported him. But Flick emphasized that it would be optimal and desirable if every player was vaccinated with us.
In addition, the national coach announced talks with his players in Wolfsburg. He will “take up the subject again”. That will happen “not only in front of the assembled team, but also in a one-on-one conversation, very personally”: “If someone has worries, we will try to take them away from them.”
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