Germany and Serbia have been banned from training at the World Cup venue in Port Elizabeth before their match because the pitch has been damaged by heavy rain over the past two days.

The German federation said Wednesday that both teams were told by FIFA they couldn't practice on the eve of Friday's Group D game to preserve the surface at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The German squad has now decided to delay its departure. The players will have their final training session near their base outside Pretoria before flying to Port Elizabeth on Thursday afternoon instead of at noon as initially planned.

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