Thomas Tuchel has admitted he is a ‘little bit worried and concerned’ after seeing Daily Mail Sport’s picture of the surface England will kick off their World Cup preparations on Saturday.
We obtained images of the pitch at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium – where the German and his charges will face New Zealand in their first tune-up tonight at 9pm.
It captured an apparently less-than-perfect surface which had been laid around seven days ago, and raised concerns over the potential of injury to England’s key men before the tournament had even started.
‘I just saw it,’ Tuchel said when asked about the situation. ‘It will not affect my selection. I heard it should be OK. We want it to be OK. I saw a photo from your colleague that made me a little bit worried and concerned. We can always react when we are there.’
Thomas Tuchel has revealed his worries ahead of England’s first pre-World Cup friendly
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
FA ground staff are thought to be liaising with the venue, who are said to be confident there will be no issues.
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.’
Meanwhile, Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa admitted the squad, which remains without its Arsenal contingent, will head into the unknown.
‘I haven’t seen it – so I haven’t got a clue what we’re walking into,’ he said.
