Germany’s luxury training base at Euro 2024 has been invaded by a swarm of mosquitoes, forcing players to take matters into their own hands. The hosts secured their place in the next round as Group A winners but have been forced to deal with their fair share of issues.
They will be without Jonathan Tah in their next match after the defender picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against Switzerland. Antonio Rudiger will also be sidelined after injuring himself while celebrating Niclas Fullkrug’s late winner, meaning both of Germany’s first-choice centre-backs will be unavailable.
To make matters worse, a plague of mosquitoes has been tormenting the Germany squad at their training base in Bavaria. A combination of flooding and unusually hot weather in southern Germany has led to a rise in mosquito numbers, which has forced players to take action.
Veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer revealed that mosquito nets have been installed at the team’s luxury base, saying: “We need to make sure that the mosquito nets are always pulled shut when we are watching games on TV by the swimming pool.”
Maximilian Beier, who came off the bench for the last 25 minutes against Switzerland, added: “I have already been stung two or three times but if the mosquitoes are the biggest problem that we have, that is OK.”
Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann explained that players and staff have been forced to retreat indoors when the mosquitoes have made it impossible to stay outside without being bitten.
“We have an abnormal plague of mosquitoes,” he said. “We need to take care that some wind is blowing in order that there aren’t too many mosquitoes around. If that isn’t the case, we have to go inside into the office.”
Germany are staying in a luxury complex in Herzogenaurach, which comes with climbing walls, football pitches and tennis and basketball courts. It also has a large swimming pool, with players and staff often congregating nearby to watch games on television.
They were targeted by insects ahead of their group stage match against Hungary, with bees invading the Stuttgart Arena on the eve of the fixture. Firefighters wearing specialist protective gear were called in to remove the creatures after they built a nest in one of the advertising boards.
Germany will go up against the Group C runners-up in the round of 16, with the match set to be played in Dortmund on Saturday night.