Nottingham Forest’s famed City Ground will host England against Senegal this evening.
The City Ground has been selected to stage the friendly, and Nottingham Forest fans may get to see one of their own in Morgan Gibbs-White.
Thomas Tuchel’s side head into the game off the back of a 1-0 win against Andorra on Saturday afternoon, which wasn’t the most entertaining game.
But it’s expected to be much more lively on the banks of the River Trent, with the maximum capacity of 30,000 fans in attendance.
Ahead of the Three Lions’ visit, we’ve looked at some previous quotes from a number of Premier League managers about the atmosphere the City Ground can generate, which is perhaps one of the reasons it’s been chosen as a venue.
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Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp praise City Ground atmosphere
Nottingham Forest’s home support can really make the difference, and many managers around the Premier League have echoed that sentiment.
Pep Guardiola praised the City Ground’s atmosphere back in 2023: “Momentum is tomorrow at 3pm we have to be ready to play against a team who has lost just one in six, a big crowd, a respected manager.”
Jurgen Klopp also previously said: “That was a proper cup match. I know they don’t get anything for it, but massive compliment for Steve Cooper and his team. They played a really good game.
“The atmosphere was a massive boost for them, but we got through.”
Eddie Howe admitted similar: “It’s a really tough place to go, the atmosphere will be red hot naturally because it’s a Friday night game.”
David Moyes once stated: “We were expecting it to be tough and we knew they were going to come out, and it was a terrific atmosphere in here. It’s a great old stadium, so it’s what we expected.
“When you play in that atmosphere, it’s great for them and it’s great for their players here. It shows you how much they’ve been waiting to get top-flight football here.”
Graham Potter earlier said: “Forest got a fantastic result against Liverpool before the break and I have huge respect for Steve Cooper and the job he has done there. He is a fantastic coach.
“So they’ll be ready and the atmosphere will be hostile I’m sure.”
Thomas Tuchel looking forward to visiting the City Ground
Tuchel has admitted he’s really excited to make the trip to the East Midlands this evening and described Nottingham as a ‘passionate’ city.
“Facing a strong African team in a passionate city with rich football heritage and then a derby match at the iconic Wembley; two big occasions that can only help us on the road to the World Cup,” the England boss said.
“While I know Wembley is our home, I also understand the importance of taking the team around the country when we are able to, and the opportunity to experience playing at a famous old English stadium such as the City Ground is one we can all look forward to.”
It’s actually the first senior international game to be hosted in the city since 1996, when Croatia lost to Portugal in the group stages of the Euros.
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