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Excess fertiliser 'damages' Manaus pitch ahead of England-Italy clash

England will send a member of staff to inspect the Arena Amazonia pitch when they land in Manaus on Thursday after worrying images emerged of the state of the turf.

England will send a member of staff to inspect the Arena Amazonia pitch when they land in Manaus on Thursday, after worrying images emerged of the state of the turf.

The Three Lions begin their World Cup campaign in a little over three days against Italy and the pitch appears to be in a poor state at the moment, with Roy Hodgson's men due to train on it on Friday.


According to PA, FIFA have said that the problems on the Manaus pitch had been caused by "excessive use of fertiliser", but that there was no threat to the match taking place.

An expert will oversee treatment on the turf between now and Saturday's game, but FIFA believes that the only real problem patch lies in one corner.

Aside from England's opener against the Azzurri, there are three other group games due to take place at the Arena Amazonia.

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