WE have all seen the pictures and the groundsman responsible for the Amazonia Arena in Manaus where England will kick off their World Cup campaign against Italy has confirmed the pitch is in 'bad shape'.
Pictures released on Wednesday showed turf streaked with brown lines and goal areas devoid of grass as Roy Hodgson's squad prepare to tackle Italy in their Group D opener tomorrow night (Saturday).
Adding to the stifling humidity of a city in the heart of Brazil's Amazon rainforest, conditions may not be conducive to a free-flowing game.
And Carlos Botella, who is head groundsman for the Royal Verd company tending to the Amazonia Arena and six other World Cup pitches, has confirmed that no amount of emergency surgery will fully repair the surface.
"Frankly, Manaus is in bad shape," said Botella. "We've started to implement an emergency plan to try to save the field and improve it as much as possible, but I don't think it'll be in good condition by the weekend.
"Yesterday we put fertiliser, and we'll increase the fertilising process with biostimulants and seeds to try to get the most out of the grass."
So remote is the Amazonas capital that it can only be reached by plane or boat, which has set back efforts to properly maintain the pitch.
Botella also blamed recent rainfall and an infestation of algae when the grass was first laid.
"The maintenance has been complicated in Manaus," he added. "There are no roads, all the machinery and ¬materials had to be brought by ship," he said. "There's no fertiliser, no seeds. Everything has been complicated."
But the state of the surface is of no concern to the England camp, according to Wayne Rooney.
"We're not sure [about the pitch], at the end of the day it's the same for ourselves and Italy so we'll both have to deal with that," he said.
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