England face a plague of flies in Volgograd

BBC Sports correspondent Natalie Pirks noted that: ''They are on your face, stick to your lips, get inside your nostrils, your ears and your hair. I've had to debug myself at bedtime as you find dead ones you've splatted in the strangest of places.''

Meanwhile, Radio 5 live commentator added: ''If Sunday night at the stadium was anything to go by, these little creatures are going to make it extremely uncomfortable for everyone there. There are billions of them.''

''At one point last night it felt like I had a hundred thousand in my hair. Fortunately they haven't bitten me at all, it's just their presence that is unpleasant. We were warned about many things before coming to Russia, but this was not one of them.''

Shy of spraying the entire stadium in insect repellent, the England team are having to take measures to neutralise the problem. Pirks spoke about the precautions that the squad will take before kick-off on Monday evening.

She said: ''The Football Association says the team doctor is aware and all players will be covered in repellent before taking to the pitch but they are a huge distraction, and the goalkeepers in particular could be affected if they're standing still for long periods.''