Lithuania’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Spain could be called off due to concerns over the pitch.
On Monday, Spain manager Vicente del Bosque had said he would prefer his side not to play their match due to the condition of the playing surface.
“If we were to forget the issue of the pitch, we’d prefer to play,” he said. “We know the difficulties with the calendar but if the pitch is bad, it is bad. The ideal is not to play.”
Now, a team of around 30 ground staff are working to prepare the surface after Lithuania beat Poland 2-0 in a friendly at the same Kaunas stadium on Friday.
“The final decision hasn’t been made yet. It will be made at least one hour before the match,” Lithuanian football association spokeswoman Jurga Chomskyte-McGeever told AFP. “The grass was hit by yesterday’s training sessions, and the Lithuanian FA has pledged to get it into shape.”
Lithuania manager Raimondas Zutautas, however, has sought to play down the issue.
“There will be equal conditions for everyone. Of course, we are used to poorer conditions; therefore, it will be a kind of advantage for us. In that case it’s easier to defend ourselves than attack. But time will show who is lucky,” he said.
