Following Argentina's defeat of Canada in Thursday night's Copa America match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, both teams sounded off about the playing surface at the venue.
“The field was a disaster,” Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez told the Associated Press. “It seems like a springboard with the ball jumping. They need to improve this. If not, Copa America will always be at lower level than the Euro.”
Natural grass was installed at Mercedes-Benz after a Major League Stadium Saturday was played on the usual artificial turf.
“Thank goodness we won. Otherwise it would have been a cheap excuse,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “They knew seven months ago that we will be playing here and they changed the surface a few days ago. It’s not an excuse, but this wasn’t a good field. Sincerely, the field is not apt for these players.”
Mercedes-Benz is slated to host eight games during the 2026 World Cup.
“It felt like walking on a stage, as if it was hollow,” Canadian defender Kamal Miller said.
A crowd of 70,564 attended the opener of the 32-game tournament. The United States plays Panama at the stadium on June 27.
