France midfielder Adrien Rabiot has raised concerns about the quality of the pitch at the New York New Jersey Stadium, describing it as “more like an artificial surface”.
France started their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win against Senegal at the venue in New Jersey on Tuesday, which is home to NFL teams the New York Giants and Jets.
Also known as the MetLife Stadium, it is due to host England’s final group game against Panama on 27 June, as well as the World Cup final on 19 July.
Rabiot, 31, started and played the full match, assisting Bradley Barcola for the second goal, before criticising the pitch after France’s victory.
“The pitch… I don’t even know if you can call it that. It felt more like an artificial surface – quite hard and quite rigid,” Rabiot said.
Rabiot’s complaints echo Brazil forward Vinicius Junior, who cited the pitch’s dryness after his side’s 1-1 draw with Morocco in their opening fixture.
“In the second half, with the heat, the pitch dries out very quickly. The game becomes very sluggish and we can’t get into our rhythm,” Vinicius said.
The 78,576-capacity stadium has had a temporary grass pitch installed for the World Cup in place of its artificial surface.
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