After players and staff were PCR-tested as they arrived at the Germany team accommodation to start work ahead of two 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein in Wolfsburg’s Volkswagen Arena on Thursday (18:00 CET) and Armenia in Yerevan on Sunday (18:00 CET), one positive test has been reported. The player who tested positive is Niklas Süle and he is fully vaccinated and currently asymptomatic, and is isolating.
On advice from the Health Department, four further players in Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Karim Adeyemi, who tested negative but were in close contact with the player who returned a positive result, will also be placed in quarantine in the team’s accommodation.
All other players and staff in the national team setup have tested negative, and are preparing for the upcoming games as normal.
Oliver Bierhoff, director of the national teams and academy, said, “The number of Corona cases has risen sharply across the country. Therefore, we will continue to implement the hygiene and behavioural measures in place for the final international game of the year, in order for us to handle the current situation as responsibly as possible. This news coming so soon before the final two World Cup qualifiers is very tough, both for the coaching staff and the whole team, but health and welfare is our top priority, of course. I hope the player who tested positive recovers soon and that he remains asymptomatic.”