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Alexandra Popp (centre) in early June preparing for the European Championship with the national team
Photo:
Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
The captain of the DFB soccer team Alexandra Popp has been infected with the corona virus.
During the women's national team's European Championship training camp in Herzogenaurach, the 31-year-old from VfL Wolfsburg tested positive after experiencing mild symptoms.
As the German Football Association (DFB) announced on Wednesday, her test was still negative at the beginning of the training camp.
The offensive player was isolated.
The following tests of the complete squad and the support staff were initially negative.
On June 24th (5 p.m. / ZDF), the DFB women will complete the last endurance test before the European Championship, which will take place in England from July 6th to July 31st.
The team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg meets Switzerland in Erfurt's Steigerwald Stadium.
With 113 caps, Popp is the most experienced player in the German squad.
It was only in April that she celebrated her return to the DFB team in a 3-0 win against Portugal in the World Cup qualifier after a break of almost a year after a cartilage injury in her knee and two operations had thrown her off track for months.
Most recently, however, Popp was hoping for a build-up of form towards the high point of the season.
She is to lead the German squad in England that Voss-Tecklenburg announced at the end of May.
In the squad of the record European champions for the tournament there are eight players each from champion and cup winner VfL Wolfsburg and runner-up FC Bayern Munich, including 31-year-old Popp with 113 international matches and goalkeeper Almuth Schult.
The youngest in the team is 19-year-old Jule Brand from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
ara/dpa