The Argentina national team was appalled at Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s newly installed grass surface following Thursday night’s 2-0 win over Canada to start 2024 Copa América.
“The state of the pitch was a disaster,” goalkeeper Emiliano MartÃnez said, per ESPN.
“Very bumpy. We must improve in this aspect, otherwise, Copa América will always appear at a lower level than the European Championship.”
The defending World Cup and Copa América champions kicked things off with a strong shutout win against their Group A foes.
Instead of celebrating, manager Lionel Scaloni used the platform to reprimand the venue for seemingly not being ready for the event.
“The weird thing is we knew months ago we’d play here, so maybe things could’ve been done about the pitch quicker,” he said.
The pitch, home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, is a synthetic surface covered that was covered with natural grass just three days ago, per ESPN.
Scaloni, who has coached Argentina since 2018, noticed something was wrong with his powerhouse team.
“We gave not necessarily a good game, but a game according to the pitch and what the rival proposed. We couldn’t do much more with the conditions of the pitch,” he said, according to ESPN.
“Look at the speed of the passes that we did.”
It was a moment of déjà vu for Scaloni.
He drew similarities to his team’s World Cup opening game in 2022, which Argentina shockingly lost after a 36-game unbeaten streak.
“The game was like that of Saudi Arabia in the World Cup, except that one had a good pitch,” Scaloni said, per ESPN. “Better that we won, or else it would have appeared as an excuse, but they knew seven months ago that we’d play here and they changed the field two days ago. It’s not an excuse, but this isn’t a good field. Sincerely, the field is not apt for these players.”
It wasn’t only Argentina complaining.
Canada’s defender, Kamal Miller, also felt let down by the pitch conditions, as it was his national team’s first Copa América match in history.
“It felt like walking on a stage, as if it was hollow,” Miller said, per the outlet.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is set to host the United States in a joust against Panama on June 27.
The pitch’s condition could remain a hot topic moving forward since the stadium will also host eight matches during the 2026 World Cup.
