Football: Yardage of Giants looks fine

(First Edition)

PLAYING World Cup games on a smaller playing surface at Giants Stadium in 1994 might lead to more defensive contests but it should not affect the calibre of play, Fifa's technical chief said on Tuesday.

During a technical inspection of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Walter Gagg said that the proposed playing field's dimensions of 66m by 103m would cost each player an average of three square metres playing space. World Cup standards call for field to measure 68m by 105.

'On the whole, we think the teams will adapt to the smaller field,' Gagg said. 'It should not effect technical ability. The teams, they will work in the training sessions on those dimensions. They will adapt.'

Gagg said it was possible that some teams might even try to use the smaller field to their advantage. 'The smaller a pitch is, it becomes easier for a weak team to defend that area,' Gagg said.

Guido Tognoni, Fifa's press officer, said: 'This is the most spectacular stadium in the world.'