Germany players suffering with flu symptoms

Seven Germany players are suffering from flu symptoms, 24 hours before Friday's World Cup quarter-final against France.

Coach Joachim Low did not reveal the names of the players affected.

"One third of our team were complaining about a sore throat," he said. "All players were able to train.

"They still have a slight cold but there's no feeling of exhaustion. I hope that we do not have any worsening overnight."

Mats Hummels and Christoph Kramer suffered with illness earlier in the week, with the former missing Monday's last-16 win over Algeria.

Low believes that the travel across Brazil, and different climate zones for their four matches so far - as well as matches in tropical heat, a heavy downpour and then in chilly Porto Alegre - have taken their toll.

He added: "Sometimes you have little problems and you have to wait for a day to see how that develops. With Mats Hummels, it was at its worst on day three; he had a fever."