Argentina tear apart ‘disaster’ squad for 2024 Copa America

The Argentina national team was left dismayed in front of the new turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta after Thursday night’s 2-0 victory over Canada to begin the 2024 Copa América.

“The state of the pitch was a disaster,” goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez said, according to ESPN.

“Very bumpy. We need to improve in this aspect, otherwise the Copa América will always appear at a lower level than the European Championship.

The reigning World Cup and Copa América champions kicked things off with a solid shutout victory over their Group A opponents.

Instead of celebrating, manager Lionel Scaloni used the platform to berate the venue for not appearing to be ready for the event.

“The strange thing is that we knew months ago that we would be playing here, so maybe things could have been done quicker on the pitch,” he said.

The field, home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, is a synthetic surface that was covered with natural grass just three days ago, according to ESPN.

Scaloni, who has coached Argentina since 2018, noticed something was wrong with his powerful team.

“We didn’t necessarily have a good match, but a game based on the terrain and what the rival was offering. There wasn’t much more we could do with the pitch conditions,” he said, according to ESPN.

“Look at the speed of the passes we made.”

It was a déjà vu moment for Scaloni.

He drew similarities to his team’s opening match of the 2022 World Cup, which Argentina shockingly lost after a 36-match unbeaten streak.

“The game was like Saudi Arabia in the World Cup, except one of them had a good pitch,” Scaloni said, according to ESPN. “It’s better that we win, otherwise it would have seemed like an excuse, but they knew seven months ago that we would play here and they changed grounds two days ago. It’s not an excuse, but it’s not a good area. Honestly, the terrain is not suitable for these players.

Argentina was not the only one to complain.

Canadian defender, Kamal Miller, also felt disappointed by the pitch conditions, as it was his national team’s first Copa América match in history.

“It was like walking on a stage, like it was hollow,” Miller said, according to the outlet.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is scheduled to host the United States in a game against Panama on June 27.

The condition of the pitch could remain a hot topic in the future as the stadium will also host eight matches during the 2026 World Cup.