Switzerland’s team chiefs on Wednesday denied that several sick players were suffering from the coronavirus as they sought to explain their World Cup humiliation by Portugal. At least three players were affected during their 6-1 loss in the round of 16 on Tuesday. Coach Murat Yakin said on Tuesday that Silvan Widmer had been suffering from “fever” and “cold symptoms”, Fabian Schaer was substituted at half time because he had difficulty breathing and Nico Elvedi, who did not play, “was not 100 percent”. .
Sports director Pierluigi Tami told a press conference on Wednesday: “It was not a matter of Covid. It was a virus that spread in the hotel. Not all, but some players got it.
“We knew about the problem (the virus) and we had made recommendations to the team. At first, it was not a problem.
“Of course, we will see if we can do things better in the future.”
Several Swiss players have suffered during the World Cup from what the team management has called “colds”.
“We lacked freshness. Unfortunately, we had several players who were sick or suffering and our opponents were stronger,” Yakin said after the match.
The coach blamed the defeat on the “energy” spent in the first three games.
Portugal will play Morocco in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
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