England manager Roy Hodgson insists he has no concerns over the state of the pitch for the opening World Cup qualifier against Moldova.
Moldova assistant manager Ion Testemitanu this week admitted the playing surface at the 10,400-capacity Zimbru stadium was not in the best condition, but Hodgson has called on his charges to perform whatever the circumstances.
Hodgson said: "I'm pretty sure that I have a very experienced group of players and they'll have played on many pitches, and I really don't envisage any particular problems there.
"It's up to us to deal with whatever playing surface we play on. I'm pretty sure the Moldovan national team want to play on the best possible surface they can."
Hodgson confirmed that his squad had not suffered any further injury concerns, after Sunderland winger Adam Johnson yesterday joined the likes of Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll on the sidelines with a thigh problem.
England are the overwhelming favourites for the Group H game but Hodgson insists his focus is on getting the win rather than scoring
"At the moment goal difference doesn't come into it," he said. At the moment it's important to try and get points on the board and try and get off to a good start."
"They are going to be very well organised, very disciplined in defence. We're aware that they are - from the games we've studied - a team that's capable of playing very well and causing some problems."
