On the eve of their World Cup round of 16 encounter against the United States on Saturday, Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal stated that some members of his team are suffering from flu-like symptoms.
Van Gaal is concerned that the illness will spread throughout the team despite the fact that all 26 players participated in some light exercise on Friday.
Van Gaal responded to NOS when asked how many players were impacted and for the names of those who were ill: “We won’t go into further detail about that. However, it is concerning if it spreads inside the group.”
The following question focused on whether Van Gaal would have a team ready to play the US on Saturday. He said that it would signify something bad if the Netherlands were having trouble fielding a team, which would necessitate the unavailability of 15 of the 26 players.
Van Gaal clarified, “There are not about 15.” Everyone is healthy and available, in theory.
The team did not play their typical 11 vs. 11 match on Friday, despite having trained on that day.
Van Gaal continued, “I gave them a day off.” They let me know that with this bunch. My guys are being heard.”
We have heard of teams having trouble with flu-like symptoms before. After the team’s 1-0 victory over Switzerland, Brazil’s players mentioned them, with Antony blaming the air conditioning for some of their players, including Neymar, feeling sick.