ENGLAND take on New Zealand at the Raymond James Stadium in their first World Cup warm-up friendly.
has two more chances to see his squad in action before their Group L opener against on June 17.
The 100-foot-long pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium Credit: Children with Cancer UK
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The huge ship at the end of the stadium has caught the attention of many fans.
brings you the lowdown on the ship below.
Why do Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a pirate ship inside Raymond James Stadium?
The Raymond James Stadium is the home of the franchise, .
The Bucs stadium features a 100-foot-long Buccaneers ship behind one of the end zones.
The ship fires confetti and makes cannon noises after each touchdown the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scoreCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The Raymond James Stadium hosted Super Bowl LV Credit: Getty
The ship is made of concrete, with six cannons on board, four of which fire confetti and two make cannon noises after each touchdown the Bucs score.
Tampa has a history with pirates, as the city hosts the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival, a parade that pays tribute to the legendary Jose Gaspar.
Gaspar built a pirate kingdom on the Gulf coast of Florida in the late 1700s, so when Tampa got a professional football team in 1976, they named it after the city’s pirate legend.
Why is Thomas Tuchel ‘worried’ about the England vs New Zealand pitch?
Images of tonight’s pitch at the Raymond James Stadium have gone viral and caused panic amongst fans.
The surface was installed just seven days ago and appears to be uneven and poorly connected.
England commentator Sam Matterface posted a picture of the playing surface on Instagram Credit: instagram @sammatterface
Many World Cup matches will be played in stadiums that usually have artificial surfaces, but the pitches have been relaid with grass for the tournament.
Speaking about the pitch before the friendly against New Zealand, Tuchel said: “I just saw it. It will not affect my selection.
“I heard it should be OK. We want it to be OK.
“I saw a photo that made me a little bit worried and concerned but we can always react when we are there.”
Some fans are worried that the condition of the pitch could put England’s star players at risk of injury on the eve of the World Cup.
FA ground staff are believed to be in contact with stadium bosses leading up to the clash, which kicks off at 4pm local time (9pm UK time).
One groundsman who saw the dodgy pitch snaps told the Daily Mail : “That’s the giveaway that it’s only just been laid.
“Ideally you would want to leave it for the roots to form into a profile and the pitch to settle but that hasn’t happened here.
“These types of pitches are called ‘plug and play’ because they are designed to be played on in a few days.”
New Zealand trained on the surface in the lead-up to tonight’s friendly and manager Darren Bazeley said: “I think it will be fine once it gets a bit of water on it.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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