Argentina’s Scaloni unhappy with pitch after win over Canada in Copa opener

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni expressed his unhappiness with the pitch at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium after his team’s 2-0 win over Canada in the Copa America opener on Thursday, saying it was unsuitable for this level of competition.

The venue, which hosts matches for Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, usually has an artificial pitch but a temporary grass surface was installed ahead of the tournament opener.

Argentina lacked their usual fluidity in the first half and looked vulnerable at times, much like their 2022 World Cup opener in Qatar where they were stunned 2-1 by Saudi Arabia.

“The start looked like the match with Saudi Arabia, with the difference that we played on a more decent pitch that time,” Scaloni told reporters.

“With all due respect, thank goodness we won. Otherwise, it would have been a cheap excuse. We have known for seven months that we are going to play here and they changed the turf two days ago.

“It is not good for the show. It is not an excuse, the stadium is beautiful and with synthetic turf it must be spectacular, but with today’s turf it is not suitable for this kind of players.”

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez echoed his manager’s sentiments, telling TyC Sports: “Coming here against a strong Canada, with good forwards and on a field that is a disaster made it a little difficult for us.

“We have to improve in that aspect. Otherwise, the Copa America will always be at a lower level than the European Championship.”

Canada captain Alphonso Davies was not content with his side’s display against the World Cup champions.

“We have to change our attitude towards the game,” he told Canadian broadcaster TSN.

“The first half we played well, but in the second half we let every long ball bounce. It was a disappointing result, we need to look at everything we did wrong in the game and fix it as soon as possible.”