7 German players affected by flu ahead of France quarter-final

Joachim Low keeping a close watch on his players

Germany manager Joachim Low has confirmed reports that seven of his players are showing signs of illness before the important World Cup quarter-final clash against France on Friday.

Low said that the flu which kept Mats Hummels out of the Round of 16 match against Algeria has supposedly spread and affected seven players. The Germany manager chose not to reveal the names of the players to the press.

“Seven players are slightly ill with flu symptoms, it is not that bad at the moment and it could be partly about air conditioning, the travel, temperature differences. I do not want to make a drama of it. We hope the situation will ease.”

Assistant coach Andreas Kopke though disclosed that midfielder Christopher Kramer was one of the players struggling with illness. While defender Hummels tweeted that he was recovering from his infection and felt he was back to 100%, Lukas Podolski is also likely to be available to start against France after recuperating from a thigh strain.

Meanwhile, Low has gone on to defend Mesut Ozil for his performance in the World Cup so far which was widely criticized in the German media.

“Mesut is extremely important to us, the criticism of him is just as incomprehensible as that for Philipp Lahm. Sometimes things get published a little too hastily and I don’t feel the right weight is given to certain things.” he said.

The 54-year old manager though admitted that Germany’s performance against Algeria wasn’t one to be remembered for long.

“You can’t always play fantastic football at a World Cup. You’ve just got to leave the field triumphant, and that’s what we did. We have worked hard, both during the preparation in South Tyrol and here in Brazil, and realised what we must improve. It’s only normal that you keep on learning throughout a tournament.”