Afcon 2021: Cape Verde suffering from food poisoning ahead of last-16 tie with Senegal

Cape Verde have confirmed an outbreak of gastroenteritis in their camp ahead of Tuesday’s round of 16 clash against Senegal at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

The West African nation disclosed that eight people in their team have been affected by intestinal inflammation which was caused by food poisoning.

The Blue Sharks advanced into the knockout stage after finishing their group campaign as the third-best team in Group A with four points after three games – earning a win over Ethiopia and a draw against Cameroon.

“Today’s training session had all the players on the pitch. However, at the moment, the delegation is facing an outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by food poisoning which affects eight people,” read a tweet from Cape Verde FA.

He also described Tuesday’s encounter as a West African derby as they hope to make the quarter-final stage for the second time in their history.

“We have worked hard in our training and facing a team like Senegal is an added motivation, because the match is like a derby,” Brito said in a press conference, via Caf’s website.

“They have to respect us as a team the same way we respect them. The competition has seen a lot of surprises, and we hope to be the other team that will cause an upset as our mission is to win the game and move to the next round.”