After St. Petersburg twice and Copenhagen once, the Red Devils will therefore continue their tour of Europe in Seville on Sunday for their round of 16.
The heat will be overwhelming there since it is still forecast 30 to 32 degrees at kickoff around 9 p.m. That’s a lot, but it’s always less than during the day, when the thermometer sometimes climbs to 40 degrees in Andalusia.
Beyond the high temperatures, it is especially the state of the lawn of the Cartuja stadium that worries. It appeared irregular, very dry and even sometimes yellowish during the first matches of this Euro, even though it was perfect in mid-April for the Copa del Rey final.
A degradation which would be due to the strong heat, on the one hand, as well as to the requirement of Luis Enrique. The Spanish coach would have liked it to be cut (too?) Short to promote the rapid circulation of the ball, an essential element for all teams who love possession, including his. Except that all this ultimately had the opposite effect since the grass was, in places, burnt.
“It penalizes us”
“The state of the ground does not help us, I regret it […] When I see that the players cannot control the ball… “, lamented Luis Enrique after the white draw against Sweden. Rodri added: “It’s not an excuse but it is not in the best of conditions and it penalizes us.”
La Roja will have to tame this element, tomorrow against Slovakia, if they want to reach the round of 16.
After that, UEFA and the Sevillian authorities, helped by the many gardeners requisitioned for the occasion, will obviously try to further improve the lawn by Sunday, but this is a parameter that the Red Devils will also have to take into account. . They who like to have possession just as much …
