ENGLAND staff will be in attendance at a special Fifa workshop in the spring, laid on to calm fears over dodgy World Cup pitches.
The Three Lions will play their second group-stage game against Ghana on June 23 — on the same pitch that Ruben Loftus-Cheek ruptured his Achilles tendon with Chelsea due to the temporary grass.
The Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, still has an artificial surface which will be temporarily replaced with grass for the World Cup.
England defender Reece James, who played in the USA last summer when Chelsea won the Club World Cup, criticised the surfaces last year.
Fifa will hold a workshop in March with nations who have qualified for the World Cup finals to allay any concerns over playing surfaces and stadiums.
England midfielder Loftus-Cheek was sidelined for more than a year after slipping on the Gillette Stadium pitch and suffering his devastating injury.
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That was in a charity match against New England Revolution just weeks before the Blues’ 2019 Europa League final win against Arsenal.
Loftus-Cheek, 29, now playing in Italy with AC Milan was handed a shock England recall by former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel for the September squad, having not made a Three Lions appearance since 2018.
Pitches across America were also criticised during the Copa America tournament in 2024, with some laid just two days before it started.
Fifa are confident they are in a far better place heading into next summer and invested more than £4million in researching safe and good-quality surfaces before the Club World Cup last summer.
However, Chelsea captain James, 26, was still critical of some of the Club World Cup pitches.
Speaking during the tournament, he said: “It’s difficult pitches, a difficult climate.
“The ball goes 100 feet in the air and it bounces one metre up. It’s not what we’re used to.
“I feel you get a lot leggier quicker, playing on pitches that are not so good.
“It’s not just for us, it’s for everyone involved.
“For the fans and the people watching, it would be better quality if the pitches were more acclimatised for us.”
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