“Not a proper pitch”: Rabiot and Vinicius Jr sound the alarm over World Cup 2026 turf

French midfielder Adrien Rabiot heavily criticized the playing surface at MetLife Stadium this Tuesday following their opening Group I victory.

Despite securing a comfortable 3-1 victory over Senegal to kick off their tournament campaign, the French camp was far from entirely satisfied. Midfield engine Adrien Rabiot who completed the full ninety minutes, expressed severe frustration regarding the pitch conditions.

Speaking directly to reporters after the final whistle, he questioned if the surface even qualified as a proper football pitch stating it felt incredibly rigid and closely resembled artificial turf rather than natural grass.

Growing concerns among global stars

The French international is definitely not the first attacker to raise alarms about the venue's playing conditions. Just days earlier on Saturday, Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior voiced similar grievances following the Selecao's hard-fought 1-1 draw against Morocco.

The dynamic winger noted that the excessive dryness of the ground severely hampered ball movement resulting in an unusually sluggish and disjointed match tempo that negatively impacted their attacking rhythm.

The pressure on the final venue

These mounting complaints present a massive headache for tournament organizers. The stadium, situated right across the Hudson River from New York City, is slated to host a total of eight fixtures during this expanded global tournament.

More importantly, it is the designated venue for the grand finale on 19 July. If elite players are already struggling to adapt their footing and passing during the group stages, groundskeepers will face immense pressure to rectify the turf quality long before the showpiece event arrives.

A historical parallel in pitch controversies

This ongoing turf controversy closely mirrors the massive pitch debates that plagued World Cup 2014 in Brazil. Prior to the highly anticipated group stage clash between England and Italy at the Arena da Amazonia in Manaus, the extremely dry and sun-baked grass was infamously sprayed with green dye to improve its appearance for international television broadcasts.

Just like the current situation in New Jersey, players back then complained that the unforgiving, hard surface heavily restricted their technical abilities and increased the risk of injury.

Khaled Hegazy |

Editorar, en

Journaliste sportif spécialisé dans la couverture du football et la création de contenu numérique, alliant expérience éditoriale et expertise des médias sociaux.

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