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Seven Germans in flu outbreak
GERMAN hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the fourth tournament in succession have been hit by a bout of flu on the eve of their clash with France.
Coach Joachim Low revealed that a third of his 23-man squad had been affected by the illness, leaving him unable to plan for this afternoon’s quarter-final in Rio.
“Seven players have somehow come down with slight cases of the flu,” said Low. “As a result, it’s too early to make any final decisions about the line-up.”
Centre-back Mats Hummels, who missed Monday’s extra-time win over Algeria, and midfielder Christoph Kramer are the players known to be hit by the bug.