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.”
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.
