In America, in NFL stadiums, football players rightfully complain about the grass, and soccer players rightfully complain about the grass.
The opening match of the Copa America, played at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday night, drew complaints from Argentina about the quality of the recently installed pitch.
Via Doug Roberson Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionArgentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni Criticized the grass fieldScaloni said that “affected our team’s tactics” in the 2-0 win over Canada, and that his players “weren’t able to pass the ball the way we wanted to.”
Scaloni repeatedly said the turf was laid on Tuesday, when in fact it was laid four days before the match after Atlanta United played Houston in an MLS match on Saturday.
A meeting was scheduled for Thursday to discuss the possibility of replacing the current turf with turf from the same farm. Roberson said the meeting was unrelated to Scaloni’s comments.
Several players also complained about the grass. According to ESPN.com’s Lizzy Becharano, Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said: “It’s just too rough.The pitch was in a terrible state“It was very shaky and we have to improve on that or the Copa America will always look less impressive than the European Championships,” Canada defenseman Kamal Miller added. “It felt like we were walking on an empty stage.”
Copa America matches will be held at various NFL stadiums in Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Arizona and Kansas City. More than 70,000 people watched last night’s opening match.
The next match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled for Thursday, June 27, when the United States plays Panama. For the Copa America, grass was laid over the existing artificial turf. As Roberson noted, for the World Cup matches at the same venue in 2026, it’s likely “the grass will be ripped out, dirt will be put in and grass will grow.”
And, of course, the grass will be removed and replaced with a surface that football players don’t like.
