Argentina-Canada: Scaloni angry at the Atlanta field; Marsch denounces the delay

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has criticized the temporary turf surface installed for Thursday’s Copa America opener against Canada, saying it was not suitable for a game of a major tournament.

The world champions beat Canada 2-0 to open their title defense, but Scaloni was far from happy with the conditions his players faced.

The field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United, is made of artificial turf, but organizers installed turf on top for this tournament.

“Thank God we won, because otherwise it would have been a cheap excuse to sit here and say this, but we knew we were going to play here for seven months and they changed the surface two days ago,” said Scaloni. “It’s not good for the show. I’m sorry, that’s not an excuse, but it’s not an argument. The stadium is beautiful and with the artificial turf it should be spectacular, but with the (turf) turf today. Honestly, it’s not suitable for these kinds of players,” he said.

The turf was installed after Atlanta United’s final home match on June 15.

Scaloni said the surface made it difficult for his team to play their normal game and adopt the tactical approach he prefers.

“They didn’t feel confident with the bad state of the pitch, they couldn’t make the passes they wanted. “Given the poor condition of the land, there was not much we could do,” he said.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez also took aim at the box in his post-match comments.

“Coming here, against a strong Canada, which has good attackers, good players, on a field which is a disaster, it made the task a little difficult for us,” declared the goalkeeper.

Martinez He said the ball was swinging on the surface and said it was a matter of prestige for the tournament.

“We need to improve on this aspect. Otherwise, the Copa America will always be at a slightly lower level than the European Championship,” he said.

Marsch unhappy with Argentina’s delaying tactics at half-time

Canada coach Jesse Marsch said Argentina should be fined after their late appearance at the start of the second half.

The match was scoreless at the break and after the halftime break, the Canadian players stood on the field for several minutes waiting for Argentina to emerge.

The world champions scored within four minutes of the restart and went on to win 2-0, with American Marsch suggesting they were using the time for additional video analysis.

“When they were waiting, I knew they were watching video and analyzing how they wanted to play against us,” he said in the post-match press conference. “Now I would like once again for the referees to achieve this. If we were five minutes late, we received a fine. There would be a big problem. Let’s see what happens with Argentina.

Marsch said he had told his players to expect a change in approach from Argentina after the break.

“In the end, I just made sure the players knew they were going to come up with a new plan and they rotated a little bit more to the three, but we still managed that,” he said. “Argentina should be fined. ALL RIGHT? Fined. Write that down. Olé. La Nacion,” he declared, speaking to the Argentine press.

Marsch was more positive about his own team’s performance after the world’s 48th-ranked side, from which he took charge last month, caused numerous headaches for the world number one.

“Overall I thought we had a good performance and especially when we were able to execute our tactical plan, we made it very difficult against Argentina and we really could have scored goals, had the advantage “, did he declare.

This match was only the third with Canada for Marsch who led the team in a 4-0 friendly defeat to the Netherlands before a 0-0 draw in France against Didier Deschamps’ side.

“I told the team afterwards that we were taking this game, but we were also taking all three games,” he said. “It’s been unfair for them, in some ways, to be put in a situation where they expect to have success quickly with a new coach in a new situation when we have to face opponents of this level,” he said. he added.

“But I think we learned a lot from it and above all that we can play. We can play with these teams,” Marsch added.

Canada will face Peru and Chile in their remaining Group A matches as they attempt to advance to the quarterfinals.

“I think where we are right now, as painful as it is to know that we let this game get away from us when we had some things in control, I think we come out of these three games stronger, more clear and better prepared, I hope he will be more mature for what he will need,” Marsch said. “But Peru will be another very difficult match and we can’t assume anything and we have to keep pushing this. group to develop, to improve, to improve,” he added.

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© Agence France-Presse