The Grass Was Always Going to Be a Problem
In the weeks before the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, the MetLife Stadium pitch had become something of a dark joke amongst players and coaching staff. The synthetic turf normally used for American football had been rolled up and replaced with natural grass laid over a temporary base — a necessary compromise for a stadium built for another sport entirely . France midfielder Adrien Rabiot had raised concerns publicly , and privately, in the training sessions leading up to the 19th of July, both Spanish and Argentine squads tested their studs against a surface that felt, in the words of one anonymous player, "like running on a very expensive carpet" .