The playing surface at the Arena Amazonia in the jungle outpost
of Manaus is in "poor condition" with 72 hours to go until the
first game, the AFP reports.  The field is "noticeably dry and
particularly bare around one of the goal," according to the
report.  Two photos of the grass from photographer Colin Droniou
are getting passed around on Wednesday. It looks rough three
days before the highly anticipated Italy-England group stage
game:  At a cost of $290 million, the Arena Amazonia has been
the most heavily criticized venue at the World Cup. The city
doesn't have a top-flight professional team, so there are fears
that the arena will become a white elephant when the tournament
is over. Teams have also complained about the exhausting amount
of travel it takes to get to the city, and hot conditions
they'll have to play in once they're there.  According to the
Guardian, the "excessive use of fertilizer" is the reason for
the poor playing surface.