England and Tunisia clashed in Volgograd on Monday at the World Cup, but both teams had a common enemy: bugs. A swarm of bugs plagued fans and broadcasters at Volgograd Arena leading up to and during England's bout with Tunisia, and people were not thrilled to deal with the annoying little things.
Or perhaps... Not so little.
These bugs are becoming a worry. pic.twitter.com/5BEdAgdAVa
— Daniel Taylor (@DTguardian) June 18, 2018
Apparently the bugs are a hybrid of mosquitoes and midges, and were known to be an issue prior to the Cup.
FYI east of Moscow≠the east of Russia. It goes on for a few more thousand miles. "It is understood the city of Volgograd, which is in the south east of the country, knew that the bugs – a mixture of mosquitoes and midges - would be a nuisance." https://t.co/AKTT9a40SZ
— Katie Stewart (@Katie_L_Stewart) June 18, 2018
And players had to deal with the bugs somehow.
BUGS!!
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 18, 2018
Swarms of bugs are taking over Volgograd before the England-Tunisia match. https://t.co/KGh4vxvyZ8 #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/91rFWcI4lS
As with any weird, natural event, conspiracy theories started to fly.
Did Russia unleash thousands of bugs to get in the way of England winning any games in the WC ? The answer is yes.
— Jake Soccer Takes (@JakeSoccerTakes) June 18, 2018
Little does Jake know, nothing gets in England's way quite like England.
Tunisia equalizes!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2018
Kyle Walker gives away a penalty and Sassi converts to make it 1-1. pic.twitter.com/LKAWUsZEWR
The World Cup has dealt with bugs before, mind you. At the last World Cup in Brazil, some bugs invaded the pitch and got caught on camera chilling on the grass.
Previously, on Bugs At The World Cup... pic.twitter.com/vn00SbMao8
— Alexander Abnos (@AnAbnos) June 18, 2018
However, these ones are an absolute nuisance.
The England vs. Tunisia World Cup game is about to begin. But first, @sarahlyall needs to tell you about the bugs.
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 18, 2018
Sign up for direct messages from our journalists on the ground: https://t.co/mbvt4M9uCc pic.twitter.com/F2zVW0AQbf
Those bugs in Volgograd 😳#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/TVZMRbrgtM
— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) June 18, 2018
#ENG had to add some extra preparation ahead of their clash with #TUN due to a swarm of bugs #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/HCh2ukIeMf
— ITV News (@itvnews) June 18, 2018
OMG, those bugs on the pitch are monsters. I would have quit the World Cup and hid in my hotel room. “See you in game two, friends. Good luck, hope you don’t get malaria!”
— 👩🏻💻steph 🌏⚽️ (@epic_skyline) June 18, 2018
The #worldcup bugs are flying into my face as I try to write a story about them.
— Sarah Lyall (@sarahlyall) June 18, 2018
Hopefully this gets sorted out soon, although the only thing that can sort it out is nature. The next match at Volgograd will be Friday, when Nigeria plays Iceland. Obviously one would hope that this little pests won't be flying around then, but if they are, teams will just have to learn to adapt.