By . Matt Barlow . Follow @@Matt_Barlow_DM . Manaus, the city England didn’t fancy. ‘The place to avoid,’ said Roy Hodgson sagely, before the draw, while FA chairman and mime-artist Greg Dyke performed his now-infamous throat slice when the balls conspired to bring them together with Italy in this jungle city. At midday on Thursday, temperatures were pushing through 30°C and the air was thick with oppressive humidity of around 70 percent, which is what you might expect in the heart of the world’s largest equatorial rainforest. With its howler monkeys, pink dolphins and mosquitoes it is a long way from Croydon for the England manager and his players. VIDEO Scroll down to see England arrive in Manaus ahead of their game against Italy . Arrived: Wayne Rooney makes his way from the team coach towards the hotel in front of the fans . Camp: Frank Lampard arrives in Manaus with the rest of the England squad ahead of Saturday's Italy clash . To cope with the heat at the Arena da Amazonia, guards shifted their seats to keep in the shade, volunteers shuffled around using brollies for parasols and deliverymen dripped with sweat as they  carried in cases of refreshments. From the outside the stadium gleamed, designed as it is to resemble the straw baskets produced in the Amazon region, with 44,500 seats which are the colours of tropical fruits. But in the bowels of the stadium, cleaning staff — many wearing masks — were starting a deep clean of England’s dressing room. The FA’s head of media Mark Whittle claims only one member of England’s support staff will visit the stadium ahead of kick-off to inspect the facilities. They are in for a busy afternoon. Surprised: England goalkeeper Joe Hart looks stunned that so many fans turned out to see the team into their hotel . Home: Rickie Lambert and Chris Smalling look on as the England team arrive at their Manaus hotel on Thursday . As well as the race against time  to make sure the dressing-room areas are fully ready and operational, the baths are understood to still be filthy. There is also builders’ dust covering many of the areas including shower rooms, toilets, coaches’ suite and massage room. There are also piles of rubble outside the dressing-room areas and a broken fence by the players’ entrance. Two of the workers, who were supposed to be part of the clean-up operation, were lying down and playing with their iPads outside on a grass verge. What happens to the stadium after the World Cup is unclear. It is one of those new-builds with the look of a white elephant, in what is not a football hotbed, but this problem has been shoved aside. There is a party about to start. England versus Italy is the first of four group games here and there were sponsors’ stalls to be erected and car parks to organise. There are also air-conditioned marquees, including one set up for the media at one end of the city’s Sambadrome, where the annual carnival procession ends. On the roof, television cameras were fixed in place, cables were being connected and a small buggy, the sort which might bring drinks on to the cricket field, buzzed around the dusty concrete passages beneath the stands. The big screen was working well as it ran through an England team featuring Frank Lampard and Jack Wilshere. Take your pick: England stars Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard grab their luggage as they get off the coach in Manaus . New kid: Luke Shaw arrives alongside England manager Roy Hodgson ahead of their World Cup start . Not bad: Glen Johnson tweeted the view from his room in Manaus upon his arrival . Newly laid grass verges gasped for a drop of water, fresh tarmac  glistened in the heat and signs affixed to the perimeter fence  forbade all manner of items to be brought in on match-day. These included guns, quite understandably, and flour, less so, and musical instruments and the ear-piercing vuvuzelas which provided the soundtrack to South Africa’s World Cup four years ago. Not good news  for the England  supporters’ band, but Hodgson and his players have more pressing concerns, most notably the quality of the pitch. It was very dry and uneven and bare in patches, despite a torrential downpour on Wednesday which left water standing in the streets, and is unlikely to ease the fears raised by Hodgson before the squad left Rio. Both teams are due to train at the stadium later today. Hopefully it plays better than it looks. A sluggish surface will not help Italy with their passing style any more than it does England, but there will be a furious reaction from all sides if anyone suffers a pitch-related injury at the start of a tournament which is beamed around the world. From afar, the Institute of Groundsmanship issued a statement to say: ‘With such technology now available there really is no excuse for any stadium — wherever it is in the world — to not have a first-class pitch. Therefore you have to question at a local level the  decision-making processes leading up to the tournament.’ Feel the heat: Adam Lallana gets sprayed during England's training in Rio . How it looks to the global TV audience may worry FIFA more. There was little visible work being done yesterday, apart from one man pulling a garden rake and another who appeared to be spraying green paint or powder onto the barest patches to enhance appearances. However, the FA have been encouraged by reports from pitch experts STRI who are responsible for England’s training pitch in Rio that, although it looks bad, they think it will not play too poorly. FIFA are also playing down the pitch concerns. ‘The pitch in Manaus has been undergoing treatment in preparation for the World Cup,’ said a FIFA spokesman. ‘Over the last three months, mitigation procedures have been put in place and there continues to be significant improvement. Pitch experts from FIFA and the Local Organising Committee are satisfied that the pitch will be ready for training and the matches, and have been based in Manaus to ensure that all proper procedures are in place.’ It will be a shame if the pitch lets Manaus down, since this city built on rubber is positively bouncing at the prospect of hosting the World Cup, with streets decked out with green-and-yellow bunting. The tensions between Mayor Arthur Virgilio Neto and Hodgson were eased by England’s diplomatic mission in February and the 1.8million people who inhabit Manaus cannot wait for it all to begin.
England arrive at their hotel in Manaus with temperatures pushing through 30°C and the air was thick with oppressive humidity of around 70 percent .
In the bowels of the stadium, cleaning staff — many wearing masks — were starting a deep clean of England's dressing room .
The baths are understood to still be filthy. There is also builders’ dust covering many of the areas including shower rooms, toilets, coaches’ suite and massage room .
There are also piles of rubble outside the dressing-room areas and a broken fence by the players’ entrance .
Three Lions' World Cup gets underway against Italy on Saturday .
By . Matt Barlow . Follow @@Matt_Barlow_DM . Manaus, the city England didn’t fancy. ‘The place to avoid,’ said Roy Hodgson sagely, before the draw, while FA chairman and mime-artist Greg Dyke performed his now-infamous throat slice when the balls conspired to bring them together with Italy in this jungle city. At midday on Thursday, temperatures were pushing through 30°C and the air was thick with oppressive humidity of around 70 percent, which is what you might expect in the heart of the world’s largest equatorial rainforest. With its howler monkeys, pink dolphins and mosquitoes it is a long way from Croydon for the England manager and his players. VIDEO Scroll down to see England arrive in Manaus ahead of their game against Italy . Arrived: Wayne Rooney makes his way from the team coach towards the hotel in front of the fans . Camp: Frank Lampard arrives in Manaus with the rest of the England squad ahead of Saturday's Italy clash . To cope with the heat at the Arena da Amazonia, guards shifted their seats to keep in the shade, volunteers shuffled around using brollies for parasols and deliverymen dripped with sweat as they  carried in cases of refreshments. From the outside the stadium gleamed, designed as it is to resemble the straw baskets produced in the Amazon region, with 44,500 seats which are the colours of tropical fruits. But in the bowels of the stadium, cleaning staff — many wearing masks — were starting a deep clean of England’s dressing room. The FA’s head of media Mark Whittle claims only one member of England’s support staff will visit the stadium ahead of kick-off to inspect the facilities. They are in for a busy afternoon. Surprised: England goalkeeper Joe Hart looks stunned that so many fans turned out to see the team into their hotel . Home: Rickie Lambert and Chris Smalling look on as the England team arrive at their Manaus hotel on Thursday . As well as the race against time  to make sure the dressing-room areas are fully ready and operational, the baths are understood to still be filthy. There is also builders’ dust covering many of the areas including shower rooms, toilets, coaches’ suite and massage room. There are also piles of rubble outside the dressing-room areas and a broken fence by the players’ entrance. Two of the workers, who were supposed to be part of the clean-up operation, were lying down and playing with their iPads outside on a grass verge. What happens to the stadium after the World Cup is unclear. It is one of those new-builds with the look of a white elephant, in what is not a football hotbed, but this problem has been shoved aside. There is a party about to start. England versus Italy is the first of four group games here and there were sponsors’ stalls to be erected and car parks to organise. There are also air-conditioned marquees, including one set up for the media at one end of the city’s Sambadrome, where the annual carnival procession ends. On the roof, television cameras were fixed in place, cables were being connected and a small buggy, the sort which might bring drinks on to the cricket field, buzzed around the dusty concrete passages beneath the stands. The big screen was working well as it ran through an England team featuring Frank Lampard and Jack Wilshere. Take your pick: England stars Rooney, Gerrard and Lampard grab their luggage as they get off the coach in Manaus . New kid: Luke Shaw arrives alongside England manager Roy Hodgson ahead of their World Cup start . Not bad: Glen Johnson tweeted the view from his room in Manaus upon his arrival . Newly laid grass verges gasped for a drop of water, fresh tarmac  glistened in the heat and signs affixed to the perimeter fence  forbade all manner of items to be brought in on match-day. These included guns, quite understandably, and flour, less so, and musical instruments and the ear-piercing vuvuzelas which provided the soundtrack to South Africa’s World Cup four years ago. Not good news  for the England  supporters’ band, but Hodgson and his players have more pressing concerns, most notably the quality of the pitch. It was very dry and uneven and bare in patches, despite a torrential downpour on Wednesday which left water standing in the streets, and is unlikely to ease the fears raised by Hodgson before the squad left Rio. Both teams are due to train at the stadium later today. Hopefully it plays better than it looks. A sluggish surface will not help Italy with their passing style any more than it does England, but there will be a furious reaction from all sides if anyone suffers a pitch-related injury at the start of a tournament which is beamed around the world. From afar, the Institute of Groundsmanship issued a statement to say: ‘With such technology now available there really is no excuse for any stadium — wherever it is in the world — to not have a first-class pitch. Therefore you have to question at a local level the  decision-making processes leading up to the tournament.’ Feel the heat: Adam Lallana gets sprayed during England's training in Rio . How it looks to the global TV audience may worry FIFA more. There was little visible work being done yesterday, apart from one man pulling a garden rake and another who appeared to be spraying green paint or powder onto the barest patches to enhance appearances. However, the FA have been encouraged by reports from pitch experts STRI who are responsible for England’s training pitch in Rio that, although it looks bad, they think it will not play too poorly. FIFA are also playing down the pitch concerns. ‘The pitch in Manaus has been undergoing treatment in preparation for the World Cup,’ said a FIFA spokesman. ‘Over the last three months, mitigation procedures have been put in place and there continues to be significant improvement. Pitch experts from FIFA and the Local Organising Committee are satisfied that the pitch will be ready for training and the matches, and have been based in Manaus to ensure that all proper procedures are in place.’ It will be a shame if the pitch lets Manaus down, since this city built on rubber is positively bouncing at the prospect of hosting the World Cup, with streets decked out with green-and-yellow bunting. The tensions between Mayor Arthur Virgilio Neto and Hodgson were eased by England’s diplomatic mission in February and the 1.8million people who inhabit Manaus cannot wait for it all to begin.
temperatures were pushing through 30°C and the air was thick with oppressive humidity of around stadium, cleaning staff — many wearing masks — were starting a deep clean of England’s dressing operational, the baths are understood to still be filthy. There is also builders’ dust covering many of the areas including shower rooms, toilets, coaches’ suite and massage room. There are also piles of rubble outside the dressing-room areas and a broken fence by the