Qatar will face pressure to allow unvaccinated World Cup stars to train in isolation if the country enforces its five-day quarantine rule ahead of November’s World Cup, with some English players likely to miss their first game against Iran because they have not been stabbed.
At the moment, unvaccinated visitors to Qatar have to be quarantined in a hotel and with England playing Iran on November 21 – eight days after the break from the Premier League season – it would be almost impossible to be match fit for the World Cup. -opener, unless the rules change.
England are expected on November 14 at the earliest, meaning unvaccinated players will likely have a day to train with the team and do group work after five days of isolation.
Qatar has come under pressure to allow unstuck World Cup stars to train in isolation later this year. (Pictured: Qatar 2022 CEO Nasser Al-Khater)
England have a handful of players who have not yet received the Covid jab and who could be missing out
At the moment that would mean locking themselves up in a hotel room, but it is possible that players could stay in designated hotels near sports facilities and train remotely on a daily basis.
That could minimize the physical impact, although the teamwork and team bonding that Gareth Southgate values would inevitably be disrupted unless the rules are relaxed or all players are vaccinated.
The issue is once again in the spotlight following the withdrawal of players from club tours to the US, which require visitors to be fully vaccinated to enter.
Manchester City flew to Houston on Saturday without Phil Foden, John Stones and Ilkay Gundogan. Midfielder Gundogan is said to have gone missing after receiving just one dose of the vaccine.
The 31-year-old received the shot last year and, having already contracted the virus, was considered fully vaccinated under German law.
He had planned to take a second dose before the trip to the United States this summer, but doctors advised against it after contracting Covid in June. It is understood that Gundogan, Stones and Foden were all absent due to failure to meet US entry requirements, but the specific reasons for the omissions of England internationals Stones and Foden have not been disclosed.
The trio travel to Croatia with City’s Under 23 team, coached by Brian Barry-Murphy, to continue their training programs for the new season. Foden declined to comment when asked about vaccinations for international duty last season, while Stones’ partner, Olivia Naylor, has posted anti-vax messages on social media.
Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte will also miss the tour, but that is because he is staying in Manchester for an injury and not because he does not meet the entry requirements.
City are not the only club in the Premier League to have left the first-team stars at home for pre-season games abroad. their Chelsea teammates are in the United States because they do not meet the entry requirements.
A number of unstabbed footballers face uncertainty over Qatar’s isolation regulations
Crystal Palace has only 10 field players available for touring matches in Australia and Singapore, partly because players do not meet the entry requirement.
England defender Marc Guehi is one of the players not on the trip, although Palace has not stated the reason.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel says he is now thinking twice about recruiting unstab players.
When asked if vaccination status was now part of his thinking when considering goals, he replied, “Yes, it should.”
But Tuchel is not without sympathy for Kante and Loftus-Cheek, who will train with the club’s youngsters while the seniors are on tour.
“We can’t force,” he said. “It is a very normal decision at this point to get vaccinated. Both players decided not to do this. We have to follow the rules.
“They can’t join us. They know the consequences. We don’t like it. Of course not. We would like to have them here and it is not an ideal solution. Far from ideal.
Any ‘refusenik’ will be forced into hotel isolation for five days on arrival in Qatar – meaning they risk missing the opening game
‘But once the situation is like this, you have to come up with a solution. So there they have their coaches. They have coaches of us there who care. They train with the Under 23’s. Then they go with the Under 19s. But it won’t compensate. It won’t be the same.’
And as Kante suffered a knee injury at the end of last season, Tuchel added: “For N’Golo, it might not even be the worst thing to do. We can give him a very individual charge. So maybe we can turn a disadvantage into an advantage.
“I don’t think he needs particularly much time to adapt to our game because N’Golo is N’Golo and everyone is aware that he is a key player and must be a key player if you want to do big things.” want to win. .’
Obviously Tottenham also checks that players are not vaccinated before signing them and encourages them to get vaccinated if they are not.