Amazônia Arena groundsmen are spraypainting pitch green in Manaus for England v Italy [Pictures]

The Amazonia Arena in Manaus, the heart of the Brazilian rain forest, has already gained infamy before a ball’s even been kicked on its pitch at the World Cup.

Never mind the scandalous cost ($290m), the more pressing issue right now is the state of the pitch, which resembles a cabbage patch just 2 days before its grand unveiling before the world, to host England v Italy.

So the groundsmen have come up with an ingenious solution: they’ve decided to spray paint the pitch green, which they hope will mask the patchy brown, at least for 90 minutes.

Brazil last hosted the World Cup in 1950; even back then, this would have probably been deemed a pretty primitive measure!

culled:101greatgoals