England face North Macedonia tonight at the Toše Proeski National Arena for the final EURO 2024 qualifier game. This is a pitch where safety concerns have grown regarding the conditions that the field finds itself in.
What’s wrong with the pitch?
The North Macedonia stadium was relaid six weeks ago and has a layer of coarse sand and stones on the top. Italy played here in September on the poor conditioned pitch and could only salvage a 1-1 draw.
Italy forward Ciro Immobile complained about the pitch in Skopje by saying: “Playing on a pitch like this could be dangerous. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but on this field it becomes even tougher.”
North Macedonia midfielder Eljif Elmas even spoke out against the pitch and said: “It is a great result, because we played on a frankly shameful pitch. I can only apologise to all Italians, to all of Europe. You cannot play football on a pitch like this. It was a problem for us just as much as it was for Italy.”
Italy were later issued an apology. The problem, however, is still very much there.
What has Gareth Southgate said ahead of the match?
England boss Gareth Southgate gave a response indicating he isn’t overly bothered in regards to the state of the pitch as England have already qualified for EURO 2024.
“That’s why you want to make sure you’re qualified well in advance,” Southgate said of the pitch.
“We said that right at the start of the qualifying campaign, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get away from home.”
Southgate also added he wouldn’t risk players: “No, we wouldn’t take any chances with players. Jarrod Bowen hasn’t travelled. He was just feeling something after training and we didn’t have time to really assess it.
“It would probably need a scan to give us the confidence that we’re not taking a chance. We never take a chance with a player, really.”
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