Pitch perfect despite storms in Vienna

THE playing surface at the Ernst Happel Stadium for the Euro 2008 final between Spain and Germany is expected to be in excellent condition despite the spectacular thunderstorms of the past few days.

Another storm hit the Vienna venue just minutes into Spain's 3-0 victory over Russia in Thursday's semi-final and heavy rain continued to fall for several hours.

However, Uefa spokesman Thomas Giordano said:

"Even though it rained quite a lot we were really satisfied with the playing surface after the match."