Euro 2024 has been a very entertaining tournament so far, with some incredible matches and intense drama. For the most part, the competition has delivered, but there has been one glaring issue throughout, and that is the state of the pitches on which the matches have been played on during the group stages.
The turf across a number of different grounds has been a real mess, and it’s caused some trouble for players performing at times. The state of the pitches has been a big talking point online, but now there’s been an explanation as to why they are in such bad shape during Euro 2024, as The Athletic have revealed in a recent article.
NFL Games Have Caused Problems
One of the biggest reasons for the trouble with the state of pitches in Euro 2024 so far is the fact that Frankfurt hosted two NFL games in late 2023. In November 2023, the National Football League came to Germany and two matches were played in the Deutsche Bank Park.
On November 5, 2023, the Miami Dolphins faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt, before the Indianapolis Colts took on the New England Patriots on the exact same ground just seven days later. The NFL’s visit to Germany was undoubtedly a success, but the pair of games left the Frankfurt Stadium in a very poor state and with the Bundesliga side having to return to playing on their turf not long afterwards, it hasn’t completely recovered in the months since and that’s played a key role in its disappointing state during Euro 2024.
The NFL games aren’t the only cause of issues with pitches during Euro 2024, though. After all, they can be blamed for the trouble at Deutsche Bank Park, but that is far from the only pitch that has looked worse for wear so far.
The Number of Pitch Relays in a Short Period Hasn’t Helped
The grass needs an extended amount of time to properly set
The number of times the pitches have been relaid in a short period of time has not helped matters either. The Dusseldorf Arena has been relaid three times between the end of the 2023/24 regular season wrapping up and Euro 2024 getting underway. That’s simply not giving the ground enough time to properly set, according to Jason Booth, the chief operating officer of the Grounds Management Association.
“The longer the turf is laid prior to use, the better the player experience should be as it allows time for an increased root mass to develop to aid stability.”
The volume of times that the grass has been relaid in just over a month has prevented this from being the case and that’s why it has been seen coming up so easily during some matches in Euro 2024 so far. The pitches have been credited for some, but far from all of England’s problems during the European Championships as Gareth Southgate’s side have struggled to get out of first gear during the group stages.
England Don’t Look Like Favourites
The Three Lions have struggled in Group C
Despite coming into Euro 2024 as the betting favourites to win it all, England have looked like anything but throughout their first three matches. In Group C, they’ve churned out unconvincing performances one after another and there are many who aren’t confident the nation will go very far now that they’ve reached the knockout stages.
The Three Lions are unbeaten in the competition and have conceded just once in their opening three matches, but they’ve also scored just two goals and picked up just one win. The state of the pitch visibly caused the side problems during their encounter with Denmark and Kyle Walker in particular had trouble with it, but according to the Athletic report, that came as a surprise to the officials involved who had conducted a check on the Deutsche Bank Park pitch before the tournament got underway and decided it didn’t need relaying.