Swiss FIFA World Cup team warns of rattlesnakes at San Diego base

Published June 8th, 2026 - 10:59 GMT
Swiss National Team
L-R) Switzerland's football players Noah Okafor (C) and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (R) exit the terminal as team Switzerland arrives at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California on June 2, 2026 ahead of the FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)

ALBAWABA - Snakes in the grass for the Swiss National Team as post shared by their team on Instagram is going viral.

A post shared by the Swiss team shows their San Diego training area along with a marked ‘Snake Area’ where rattlesnakes abide; while these snakes are nothing new to San Diego and its inhabitants, it certainly took the Swiss team aback as they don’t exist in Switzerland.

Switzerland instead has venomous vipers; perhaps the warning is for the players and fans not to confuse rattlesnakes as harmless. In San Diego, rattlesnakes are common; the county says they are mostly found in rural or canyon areas and when the weather warms up.

The San Diego camp and the adjacent ‘Snake Area’ will be the home of the Swiss team for several weeks, sharing it with New Zealand. Switzerland will be facing the previous World Cup host Qatar on June 13 in Santa Clara before going to face Bosnia in Los Angeles on June 18.