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3 1, the French beat Senegal. But in the locker room of MetLife Stadium, no one wanted to talk about the score.
3-1, the French beat Senegal. But in the locker room of MetLife Stadium, no one wanted to talk about the score.
After the match, the atmosphere in the French team's locker room was colder than the New Jersey night breeze. Some players didn't discuss tactics or the score, only expressing strong dissatisfaction with the quality of the turf. In their view, the field was very hard, more like an artificial surface, completely failing to meet World Cup standards.
The players didn't swear, but those in the know understood the subtext. Playing on this field felt like doing shuttle runs on sandpaper with studs.
MetLife Stadium is the home of the NFL's New York Giants and Jets, and its turf was never intended for soccer. To meet FIFA standards, the Americans devised a complex temporary turf solution. Among the 11 US venues hosting NFL games, 7 originally equipped with artificial turf underwent this transformation magic.
They used movable turf trays, underground cooling, and LED supplemental lighting—complex technical systems—to convert artificial surfaces into regulation natural grass. But this costly temporary solution ultimately couldn't replicate the soil ecology of true natural turf.
Because the temporary turf lacked sufficient elasticity and studs couldn't penetrate the grass layer like in native soil, the reactive force from every sudden stop and direction change wasn't absorbed like a sponge by the ground.
It traveled straight through the ankles and knees, slamming into the players' joints.
Don't think this is an overreaction. Ask any NFL player how many people this field has claimed. Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles tendon on this very field, ending his season. And Malik Nabers tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing the Los Angeles Chargers, also ending his season. These muscular beasts with top-tier contracts in North American sports have all suffered devastating injuries.
Football players at least wear longer cleats and mostly run in straight lines, but soccer players are different. They execute feints at high speeds while dribbling and forcibly twist their knees when off-balance. When studs slip on turf lacking cushioning, and the unyielding ground clamps onto the ankle, ligaments snap. This isn't playing soccer; it's rolling dice with your cruciate ligaments.
But FIFA chose to look the other way. In the face of North American broadcasting fees and New York sponsor checkbooks, whether the turf is natural or temporary is all categorized as a manageable technical detail. Despite the fact that during the 2025 inaugural 32-team Club World Cup—a full-scale stress test for the 2026 World Cup—turf quality issues had already drawn widespread criticism, the situation remains concerning for the World Cup itself.
The complaints from players and coaches barely make a splash against the backdrop of packed stands and broadcasting contracts.
On July 19, this stadium will host the World Cup final, where top stars will decide the fate of the trophy on this temporarily modified turf. Who knows who will be the first to slip on the final stage, or whether someone will be waiting in the locker room, clutching their knee for an ambulance as the championship confetti falls?