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England will kick-off their World Cup preparations on a ‘plug and play’ pitch laid just a week ago.
Thomas Tuchel and his Three Lions start their friendly double-header with a clash against New Zealand at the Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on Saturday. And when they step out of the tunnel in Florida they will do so onto a new surface that is prompting some questions in the Sunshine State.
Pictures taken on Thursday and obtained by Daily Mail Sport show the turf appearing slightly disjointed in parts – and traveling FA ground staff are thought to be liaising with the venue ahead of the 4pm kick-off.
One groundsman at a leading EFL club examined the shots and said they showed that sections of the surface were yet to ‘blend properly’.
They explained: ‘That’s the giveaway that it’s only just been laid. Ideally you would want to leave it for the roots to form into a profile and the pitch to settle but that hasn’t happened here. These types of pitches are called “plug and play” because they are designed to be played on in a few days.’
The situation may present flashbacks of England’s build up to the 2014 World Cup, when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sprained the medial ligament in his right knee during a 2-2 friendly draw with Ecuador down the road in Miami and did not play in what turned out to be a disastrous tournament.
England will begin their batch of pre-World Cup friendlies against New Zealand at the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
One groundsman at an EFL club suggested that ‘plug and play’ pitch had not had time to blend
However, while it may look a little patchy, ground staff at the venue are thought to be confident that the freshly-laid surface will not present any major issues.
Given many of the venues at the tournament are not soccer-specific, such pitches will be commonplace across the World Cup, although most will have had significantly longer to bed in.
‘In most stadiums these pitches tend to be around 40mm thick,’ the expert added. ‘Therefore they are quite heavy and difficult to move. One Premier League club returfed their pitch in August last year and played on it two days later without issues.’
