Football
Jonathan Smith, Manchester City correspondent 6y

Kevin De Bruyne: Bosnia pitch worst I have played on since childhood

Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne said the pitch for his side's World Cup qualifier at Bosnia-Herzegovina was the poorest he had played on for almost 20 years.

Manchester City's De Bruyne said the conditions had left him concerned about the risk of injuries in the Group H game, which was won 4-3 by Belgium.

Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini limped off with a knee problem after 30 minutes and is likely to be sidelined for a couple of weeks.

And De Bruyne told reporters: "Even metal studs didn't help in those conditions.

"It was quite honestly the worst pitch I've played on since I was seven years old and played in my club's youth team."

Colleague Thomas Meunier said the surface "became unplayable" as the match progressed, but Eden Hazard added: "This kind of pitch is good for small builds like me. I always want to play here.

"This mud, it brings back good memories of when I was young, when you play in the garden and the pitch quickly turns into a potato patch."

Coach Roberto Martinez said the surface had made it "impossible to play any tactics."

He added: "Our team spirit won the game. The Fellaini injury changed our play and we lost focus, but after that showed amazing character and never gave up."

Belgium have one more World Cup qualifier to play, against Cyprus on Tuesday.

Information from ESPN FC's France correspondent Ian Holyman was used in this report.

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