Germany captain Joshua Kimmich has disclosed that a venomous snake was discovered at the team’s training base in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.“We saw a snake yesterday and we were advised it was venomous,” Kimmich said, via BILD. “If you get bitten, you have to go to the hospital. I don’t think you’ll die, but it’s certainly dangerous. I have a bit of respect for them here. In Germany, there aren’t so many dangerous animals.”“I have the feeling that if you step on such a snake, it can end badly. That’s why we’re trying to be careful when it comes to the animals.”According to reports, the intruder was a Copperhead snake, which is extremely common in the region. In fact, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Copperheads account for 90 per cent of venomous snakebites in North Carolina.
The website also notes that while bites can be painful, they are not considered life-threatening. Nevertheless, Copperheads, it warns sagely, “should be left alone.”Kimmich and his teammates are remaining vigilant.Copperhead snakes are common in North Carolina (Lauren Witte / Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY Network)Germany won their first game of the tournament, beating Curacao 7-1 in Houston. The victory virtually guarantees them a place in the next round, meaning that — yes — the days since have been quiet on the news front.As a sign of that, Kimmich, a keen gardener, spent part of his media duties on Tuesday discussing the virtues of the local magnolia trees. Bigger than in Germany, apparently, and in the habit of flowering more often. So, beyond the snake drama — Schlangenalarm, in German — the storylines have been a little soft.But this is actually not the first time Germany have been disrupted by wildlife, or nature, at an international tournament. During the 2024 European Championship, which they hosted, the German training base at Herzogenaurach, once part of a United States army base in rural Bavaria, was infested by mosquitoes.Flooding, warm weather and a lack of wind conspired to attract the insects in record numbers, to the extent that local suppliers actually suffered a shortage of repellent.Ultimately, Germany’s headquarters had to be sprayed with cocao fumes, which may have acted as a deterrent to the mosquitoes, but created such an unpleasant smell that the players, coaches and support staff, all of whom got horribly bitten, had to spend many of their tournament evenings indoors. Still, better a mosquito than a venomous snake.Germany face Ivory Coast on Saturday in Toronto.
