Spain worried about state of Kaunas pitch

Published on Monday 28 March 2011 22:36

Spain are concerned about the quality of the pitch for the 2012 European Championship Group I qualifier at Lithuania tonight.

The turf at the stadium in Kaunas has been badly scarred by the harsh Lithuanian winter - far from ideal conditions for the pinpoint-passing game of the reigning world and European champions.

"These are not good conditions to play football," said Spain coach Vicente del Bosque. "I think it's not good for them nor for us. But if we have to play we will try to do it in the most positive manner possible and adapt the best we can."

Defender Sergio Ramos is worried about getting hurt. "We want to win, but will be very careful. Nobody wants to get injured here," he said.

Jurga McGeever, a spokeswoman for the Lithuanian Football Federation, said that a Uefa official who inspected the pitch yesterday found no reason to postpone the match. A final decision will be made this morning, McGeever said.

Lithuania defender Marius Stankevicius said he is ashamed to be playing the world champions on such a "horrible" field.

"It isn't good for the players, but the decision does not depend on us," he said.

With a perfect record in Group I, including Friday's 2-1 win over the Czech Republic, a fifth straight victory on Tuesday would put Spain very close to qualifying for next year's tournament in Poland and Ukraine. "Three points in this game would mean security and certainty for us in future," Del Bosque said. "We are in a very good mood after the game with Czech Republic and will try to win again here in Lithuania."

Carles Puyol, Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez are out injured for Spain.

Midfielder Andres Iniesta said he was expecting a difficult game, remembering Spain's hard-fought 3-1 home win over Lithuania in October.

"It is a team that pressures a lot. They don't let you breathe, and they close in defence like is customary with a lot of teams," Iniesta said.

"If we add that we are playing away and that the pitch won't be in the best condition, it makes it a difficult game."

In the other match in Scotland's group, the Czech Republic are expected to take full points at home to Liechtenstein this afternoonl.