Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman stresses player safety concerns amid “dangerously” poor pitch conditions

Poor playing conditions in recent high-profile games has once again raised the issue of standards in women’s football

Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman has raised concerns over player safety after a high-level women’s clash was overshadowed by poor playing conditions.

Arsenal succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid last week, but it wasn’t their performance that drew the ire of many - with the rain-sodden surface on which the game was played on instead stealing the headlines.

Held at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, the 6,000-seater home of Real's reserves, questions were raised at why the contest wasn’t staged at the Bernabeu, which was available during the men's international break.

This comes after criticism was directed at the playing surface for the Women’s League Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City, which took place at Derby County’s Pride Park.

"It's really disappointing,” Wiegmann said. “You would hope they would be playing (Champions League matches) in the Bernabeu.

"You want better pitches. It's a little bit dangerous, too. We have to keep working on these things, players deserve to show their performances at the highest level and take away the risks of injury."

Wiegman’s England side are staring down the barrel of a double-header against Belgium next month in the Women’s Nations League - travelling to Leuven just four days after they first take on the nation at Ashton Gate.

England are unbeaten in Group A3, starting their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Portugal before beating Spain 1-0 under the Wembley lights.

Wiegman believes avenging their 2023 final defeat to world champions Spain will do wonders for the Lionesses’s confidence against Belgium.

"I think a lot of confidence, we showed we are still a top team,” she added. “We had a bit of disappointment against Portugal but I think tactically they did a couple of things really well and we had to adapt to that.

"That was a different game. In between these games we had some team meetings and conversations and you could see and feel on the pitch we fought for this win [against Spain].

"We knew it was a very competitive game because Spain are the world champions so that brings confidence to the team.

"Belgium will give us different challenges and we have to adapt again. It's going to be two tough games but we're looking forward to meeting up with the team again."