Belgium’s players will spend less time in St. Petersburg ahead of their third European Championship match because team management wants the squad to prepare “in a more COVID-safe environment.”
The change in Belgium’s plans comes as authorities in the Russian city say they are tightening anti-coronavirus restrictions from Thursday in an effort to curb a new spike in infections.
That includes closing food courts in the city’s shopping malls and its Euro 2020 fan zone.
Belgium’s squad was planning to fly to St. Petersburg for a three-day training camp starting the day after its second group match against Denmark in Copenhagen on Thursday. Instead it will return to its training base in Tubize near Brussels and fly to St. Petersburg the day before the game against Finland on June 21.