England head coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that worries over the state of the pitch in Tampa will not affect his selection for the friendly against New Zealand.
The playing surface at the Raymond James Stadium, home of NFL side Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was reportedly laid just a week ago as a temporary grass pitch.
Several World Cup venues across the United States have had grass pitches relaid to replace artificial surfaces ahead of the tournament beginning on 11 June.
Football Association ground staff are understood to be in contact with the stadium over the condition of the surface, which appeared disjointed in photographs.
Tuchel admitted he had concerns after seeing images of the pitch but insisted the condition of the surface “will not affect my team selection.”
“I saw a photo from a journalist which made me a little bit worried and concerned, but let’s decide when we are there,” Tuchel told a news conference on Friday.
The England boss outlined his intention to play two entirely separate squads across both halves of the match, giving every player an equal amount of game time.
“The plan is to play 45 minutes with two complete teams, to expose everyone to the same amount of minutes,” Tuchel said, adding that training loads would remain consistent in the following days.
England are based in West Palm Beach, Florida, ahead of Saturday’s fixture against New Zealand, which kicks off at 21:00 BST.
A second warm-up against Costa Rica follows on 10 June before England open their Group L campaign against Croatia on 17 June in Dallas, Texas.
They then face Ghana on 23 June in Massachusetts before taking on Panama on 27 June at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
England trained with 27 players on Friday, though Arsenal quartet Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka were absent having featured in the Champions League final on 30 May.
Premier League players Josh King, Rio Ngumoha, Ethan Nwaneri, Alex Scott and Jason Steele have joined Tuchel’s squad on a temporary basis to boost squad numbers in training.
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson also trained with the group after joining the camp following Crystal Palace’s victory in the Conference League final.
Tuchel was full of praise for captain Harry Kane, who scored 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern Munich this season, describing the 32-year-old as being in outstanding condition.
“He’s in top shape, he is ready to go. He was the leading player who set the intensity in training today, on a defensive training day,” Tuchel said.
“He was so influential in Bayern’s campaign, he scored three in the cup final,” the England boss added, dismissing any concerns over Kane performing in the heat and humidity of the United States.
Tuchel suggested he may look to manage Kane’s minutes during the two friendlies, though conceded the temptation to keep his captain on the pitch would be difficult to resist.
“Ideally, we can take some minutes off him. But if the matches are close, do we really do this? Do we take our main goalscorer, our captain off?” Tuchel said.
With Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney as backup striking options, Tuchel left little doubt over who his first-choice forward remains heading into the tournament.
Tuchel also confirmed that squad members would be permitted to finalise transfer moves provided those dealings did not significantly disrupt their World Cup preparations.
