Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the grass was to blame for his team’s disappointing performance in the 2-0 Copa America win over Canada on Thursday.
The artificial turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of NFL team Atlanta Falcons, was changed to grass two days ago – after Atlanta United played on the artificial turf – and Scaloni said that was the reason why his team’s passing was subpar lying down and struggling to control the ball.
After going goalless at halftime and Canada impressing, Argentina secured victory with two goals scored by Lionel Messi and scored by Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.
“With all due respect, thank God we won, because otherwise it would have been a cheap excuse to sit here and say this,” Scaloni fumed after the match.
‘We knew we would play here for seven months and two days ago they changed the grass. It’s not good for the show. I’m sorry.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the grass hindered his team’s victory over Canada
Lionel Messi created two goals but his team stuttered to a 2-0 win in the Copa America
‘The stadium is beautiful and with artificial grass it should be spectacular, but with the current grass it was not suitable for these types of players.’
Scaloni said his players struggled to play at the pace he expected due to the condition of the pitch, saying: ‘Look at the passing speed of our centre-backs and you realize what the grass was like.
‘Everything looks beautiful from above, but not from below. I hope the other fields aren’t like that. I imagine the other one will be fine. And maybe something could have been done here sooner and not against the clock.’
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez agreed with his coach, saying: “The pitch wasn’t great. It was very bumpy.
‘It was difficult for us. Normally we like the pitch to be quite smooth and fast, for our game and style.”
Canadian coach Jesse Marsch, meanwhile, was unhappy with how long it took for Argentina to come out for the second half and said they watched a video on how to break down his team.
“Argentina should be fined, you can write that,” he said. ‘What time were they? 20 minutes?’
Canada boss Jesse Marsch wants Argentina to be fined for being late in the second half
But he praised his team for how difficult they made it for the defending Copa America champions, saying: “We made it very difficult, we could have been in charge. Most of all, we learned that we can play with these teams.”
Canada should have taken the lead before half-time when Cyle Larin’s chipped ball from the byline was met by Stephen Eustaquio, but his header from six yards was punched away by Martinez.
It was a huge letdown for Argentina, and how different things could have been if the Porto man had put it away. But Canada impressed for large parts of the game – only their third under Marsch.
Argentina will next play Chile on Tuesday at MetLife Stadium – the venue for the 2026 World Cup final – while Chile will take on Peru.