We all know about Michael Jordan’s legendary “Flu Game” in the 1997 NBA Finals. But the U.S. soccer team could be getting ready for a different kind of “flu game” in the World Cup tomorrow.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Round of 16 game against the Netherlands, reports have emerged that the Oranje are dealing with a flu outbreak on their team. Speaking to the media on Friday, Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal announced that he was giving the entire team a rest day and that the influenza outbreak on the team is “worrying.
“I gave them a day of rest,” van Gaal said, via Sports Illustrated. “With this group, they communicate that to me. I listen to my players… But if it goes around in the group, it is worrying.”
Per the report, Dutch journalists suspect that there might be as many as six Oranje players battling the flu and potentially unable to play. If their available players drop below 20 for the game, assistant coach Edgar Davis might be called on as an emergency addition to the roster.
As for who might be affected, there’s speculation that midfielders Frenkie De Jong and Marten de Roon are among them. Both appeared to have symptoms in interviews earlier this week.
The USMNT are underdogs in tomorrow’s game – not as heavy underdogs as they were in their game against England, but are still considered unlikely to make it through to the quarter-finals.
Will this flu outbreak help even the odds for the United States tomorrow?