ST. GALLEN, Switzerland (AP) — A World Cup warmup game between Switzerland and Jordan ended in chaos amid extreme weather on Sunday ahead of a tournament where severe thunderstorms are forecast
The match referee blew the final whistle in the 88th minute after several minutes of heavy rain pounded the field with the Swiss leading 4-1 in their last game before flying to the United States.
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Switzerland's Michel Aebischer, left, and Granit Xhaka challenge Jordan's Musa Al-Tamari for the ball during the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland's Denis Zakaria, left, fights for the ball with Jordan's Mahmoud Al-Mardiduring the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
A pouring rain during the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
Players under poruing rain during the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland's Cedric Itten, left, fights for the ball with Jordan's Mohammad Al-Dawoud during the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
The Swiss squad did a lap of honor and some players completed post-game interviews before the broadcast noted the teams had been summoned by Norwegian referee Rohit Saggi and told to prepare to go back on the field and complete the 90 minutes.
The Swiss soccer federation then sent a message to international media on WhatsApp: “We will play the last minutes. Match is not over.”
Play resumed after a 15-minute delay with water slowing the ball and splashing up from puddles with every tackle. A second final whistle was blown within about three minutes.
Heavy rain and electric storms are likely at some World Cup games in the U.S. A year ago, six games at the FIFA Club World Cup were put into weather delays totaling 8½ hours.
The tight match scheduling for national broadcast networks worldwide is much more complex at a World Cup.
Switzerland dominated Sunday’s game against World Cup debutant Jordan, getting first-half goals from the penalty spot by Breel Embolo and Granit Xhaka, either side of a shot by Dan Ndoye.
Jordan cut the lead on Odeh Al Fakhouri’s strike from the outside the penalty area in the 52nd, and Swiss substitute Christian Fassnacht made it 4-1 in the 79th, just before the rain started.
On Tuesday, Switzerland heads to a training camp in San Diego to prepare for World Cup games against Qatar, Bosnia-Herzegovina and co-host Canada.
Jordan is the underdog in a World Cup group with defending champion Argentina, Austria and Algeria.
Switzerland's Michel Aebischer, left, and Granit Xhaka challenge Jordan's Musa Al-Tamari for the ball during the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland's Denis Zakaria, left, fights for the ball with Jordan's Mahmoud Al-Mardiduring the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
A pouring rain during the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
Players under poruing rain during the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
Switzerland's Cedric Itten, left, fights for the ball with Jordan's Mohammad Al-Dawoud during the international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Jordan in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (Peter Schneider/Keystone via AP)
BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Five patients have recovered from a rare type of Ebola virus, the head of the World Health Organization said Sunday during a visit to Bunia in eastern Congo, a city at the heart of an outbreak.
“Four people will be discharged today and there was one that was discharged the day before yesterday,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the opening of a new Ebola treatment center in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province.
“Of course, we’re still working on vaccines and treatments but that doesn’t mean that people cannot recover from Ebola,” he added.
The WHO said Friday a patient had recovered from the Bundibugyo virus, the current species of Ebola, which has no approved treatment or vaccine. It was the first documented recovery of a confirmed Bundibugyo patient during the current outbreak.
The health organization said authorities have reported 134 confirmed cases in Congo and neighboring Uganda, including 18 confirmed deaths as of May 29.
Baraka Bulambulu, one of those who recovered, told The Associated Press on Sunday that community members feared contracting an unknown illness from them, keeping their distance while delivering food and medicine.
He said the uncertainty was overwhelming, as he and other patients believed they might die without knowing what disease they had, though testing eventually confirmed Ebola.
“Being able to come out of this alive is an immense source of happiness,” Bulambulu said. ”Many people who were in the same situation died.”
Ezo Étienne, a nurse, said his symptoms began during ward rounds when he suddenly felt dizzy, then rapidly deteriorated into vomiting, intense itching, severe diarrhea and extreme weakness. He was tested seven times before Ebola was confirmed.
His treatment remained purely to treat the symptoms: medications to control vomiting, fluids to prevent dehydration and pain relievers. “That was all they could provide,” he said.
He urged the public and healthcare workers not to dismiss early symptoms such as vomiting and headaches, warning that misinformation leads many people to believe they have been poisoned rather than seeking hospital care.
Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said Saturday the virus continues to spread faster than the response despite better-organized health facilities and new aid arrivals. It called for the immediate expansion of testing, faster deployment of aid workers and sustained access for medical supplies.
The dangers faced by health workers have been heightened by anger among residents over the stringent medical protocols for handling the victims’ bodies, which clash with local burial rites. Residents have launched at least three attacks against health centers.
Tedros stressed the importance of involving the community in the outbreak response during the opening of the new treatment center on Sunday.
“If you come to health facilities when you have symptoms, you can get the support and recover, so the key is to come forward as early as possible and to get the necessary support," the WHO chief said.
“We can stop this Ebola and anyone who has it can also recover. But the rule ... is this thing is everybody’s business and every citizen should be involved,” he added.
Attacks in the region by the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel group allied with the Islamic State group, and a coalition of ethnic militias have also hindered the response.
ADF fighters killed seven people Saturday in Beni, North Kivu province, an area also affected by the outbreak, the Congolese army and civil society groups said.
The illness also has been reported in both North Kivu and South Kivu, south of Ituri, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls many key cities, including Goma and Bukavu.
“The final message we would like to share with the Ituri community is that there is hope,” Pierre Akilimali, incident manager at Congo's National Institute of Public Health, said during the inauguration on Sunday.
“With the symptomatic treatment that we are currently providing, we are seeing patients recover,” Akilimali added.
“We truly have hope. The virus here is not as complicated as those we have dealt with in the past, and with the support of all our partners, we believe we will be able to bring this outbreak under control as quickly as possible,” said Davin Ambitapio, another doctor at the treatment center.
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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.
A health worker takes the temperature of the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who arrived to meet health workers who recovered from Ebola in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, meets with health workers who recovered from Ebola in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
A view of a ward at the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) during a visit by the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, visits the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, center right, visits the Evangelical Medical Center (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, visits health workers at the Evangelical Medical Centre (CEM) in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
