The pitch at Warsaw's National Stadium gives way under foot and is not of the same quality as in Wroclaw, Russia right-back Kirill Nababkin said Tuesday ahead of their clash with Poland in the capital.
Russia thrashed the Czech Republic 4-1 on the exemplary turf of the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw on Friday, and had expected a similarly high standard of surface for the vital encounter with Poland, which could see them through to the quarterfinals.
"I like the arena," Nababkin said on the Russian Football Union's website. "The stadium is world-class, it looks super. But the quality of the pitch is average," he said.
"It was better in Wroclaw. There, the grass held up better. Here, it gives way a bit," said the CSKA Moscow defender, who is set to continue to play understudy to Alexander Anyukov.
As for the result, everything's in Russia's hands, he said.
"We are going only for a win. In general, it will all depend on how we approach the match and how we play."
Nababkin, 25, was a late call-up into the Russia squad, replacing Lokomotiv Moscow's injury victim Roman Shishkin. He impressed in the 3-0 win over Italy on June 1, the Russians' last tournament warm-up.
