The respective football associations of Italy and England have been assured that the pitch at the Arena Amazonia will be ‘fine’ to host the World Cup match between the sides.
There had been serious concerns over the state of the pitch after large patches looked to be extremely dry while there were groundsmen spotted spraying the surface green (pictured).
However, the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) have filed a report on the field, insisting it will be playable for the Group B clash in Manaus.
Both sides have trained on the field although nobody has made any real comment from the Italian camp with regards to the surface with only Demetrio Albertini commenting when he said that they acknowledged there was burnt grass due to the heat but had “no problem” with the grass being sprayed green.
However, a FIFPro statement was released criticising the surface saying that “the players deserve a quality playing surface but this is not the case in Manaus.”
