Soccer Teams Moan About Grass Installed At MetLife Stadium Ahead Of World Cup , As Expected

Soccer teams complaining about pitch conditions is truly a tradition unlike any other. If the turf isn't to a team's liking, the world will hear about it. Therefore, it should come as no surprise whatsoever that players and coaches are sounding off about the turf installed at MetLife Stadium for the FIFA Club World Cup.

The home stadium for both the New York Giants and New York Jets has long been known as having some of the worst artificial turf in the NFL. The real grass installed for the Club World Cup, a move required by FIFA, apparently isn't much better.

There is plenty of time between now and MetLife Stadium hosting the 2026 World Cup Final in July ‘26, but the fact that teams are already moaning about the playing surface isn’t exactly the greatest vote of confidence about what is to come.

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Porto took on Palmeiras in the first FIFA Club World Cup match at MetLife Stadium, and neither side was pleased with the playing surface.

"It’s a different grass than in Europe. My feeling was the pitch was a little bit soft and it was a little bit, not dry, but I would say that the ball wasn’t traveling so fast as we are used to," Palmeiras’ Estêvão said, according to the New York Post. "This is a little bit of what my impression is, what my feeling is. But, everybody has to work in the same conditions and we don’t search for any excuses."

MetLife Stadium's turf is constantly being criticized. Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund played to a scoreless draw against Fluminense on MetLife's surface as well, and Pascal Groß had similar concerns about the grass.

"It’s just a totally different football pitch than what we played the whole year. It’s nothing compared to the grass we play on," Dortmund’s Pascal Groß said after the match. "But I’m not a fan of excuses, so that doesn’t matter for me. … We need to adjust quick. We need to be able to play on different pitches."

Complaining about grass, the same grass your opponent has to play on as well, is always a questionable move. Add in the fact that these teams should have been well aware that the surface was a new one, and the complaints come across as nothing but a whine fest.

Having said that, the playing surface has to be pristine in time for the World Cup Final.