Russia to host England on Luzhniki's synthetic pitch

MOSCOW, July 11 (Reuters) Moscow's Luzhniki Olympic stadium will stage Russia's Euro 2008 Group E qualifier against England, the Russian Football Union (RFU) said today.

''Yes, the match will be played at Luzhniki and it is now 99.9 percent certain that it will be held on a synthetic pitch,'' a spokesman for the RFU told Reuters.

Initially, the Russians also included the 30,000-seat Lokomotiv arena as a possible venue for the Oct. 17 qualifier before deciding on the 84,000-seat Luzhniki, the site of next year's Champions League final which will be played on grass.

''(Russia coach) Guus Hiddink also wanted the England match to be played on natural grass but I don't think it would be possible to lay out the grass turf in time for the game,'' the spokesman said.

The two sides also meet at Wembley on Sept. 12.

Croatia lead Group E with 17 points from seven matches, with Russia in third place on 15 points and England in fourth, a point behind.

REUTERS BJR PM1819