Tell me if you have heard this before: athletes complaining about MetLife’s field.
After a 3-1 win against Senegal in their opening match of the World Cup, France midfielder Adrien Rabiot complained about the new grass field at MetLife.
“The pitch … I don’t even know if you can call it that,” Rabiot said, according to Sports Illustrated. “It felt more like an artificial surface—quite hard and quite rigid.”
The current playing surface at MetLife is a temporary natural grass on top of the standard artificial turf, which was required by FIFA to host the 2026 World Cup.
Didier Deschamps, France manager, also mentioned the field, calling it a “special surface,” specifically noting the short grass fibers and the hard surface underneath.
Brazil’s Vinicius Junior previously commented on the field, saying the heat dried it out during their World Cup opening match against Morocco on June 13, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
“We can’t get into a rhythm, and that creates difficulties for us because we want to play, we want to switch the ball from one flank to the other, and it disrupts our style of play,” he said, per SI.
Most of the fields used during the World Cup are watered at halftime with a sprinkler system, although it’s unsure if MetLife Stadium utilizes that approach.
Moisture is also measured daily at MetLife, along with ball roll and firmness, as part of FIFA’s effort to make playing surfaces consistent and up to code throughout the tournament.
Last summer, during the Club World Cup, the field at MetLife took a similar criticism.
“It’s more a golf green, so you can putt here,” Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovač said after a match, according to Sports Illustrated. “It’s very short. But this is not the grass we are used to playing on in the Bundesliga and also in the other two stadiums.”
Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1. If you don’t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.
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As you saw, the watering wasn’t good enough, I would say, because you don’t have the devices for that. When it’s too dry, it’s unbelievable. It’s sticking.”
MetLife has come under fire over the years for its playing surface, even being named NFL players’ least-favorite field to play on according to a 2023 poll from The Athletic.
