A number of fans of the German national soccer team have to let their World Cup tickets expire because they have problems with entry permits for Qatar. The German fan embassy is aware of around 30 cases, as spokesman Philipp Beitzel of the German Press Agency confirmed on Thursday morning when asked. Fans fear they will be left with all costs, including flights and hotels, if there is no quick fix. The portals "Spox" and "Goal" had previously reported about it.

"That's a big problem for the fans. It's unclear to us what the reason is. Whether it's for technical reasons, for example. We can't determine that," said Beitzel. At the same time he complained: "The information to the people who are affected is rather sparse."

If you want to travel to Qatar, you need a valid Hayya card for the duration of the tournament. Some people are currently still missing confirmation for this, reported Beitzel. "We're trying to solve that with the German embassy. That's going to be difficult."

The last group game of the German team against Costa Rica will kick off this Thursday at 20:00 CET.