{"id":5186,"date":"2026-07-18T11:03:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T11:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5186"},"modified":"2026-07-18T11:03:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T11:03:28","slug":"the-world-cup-final-will-be-played-on-turf-with-mixed-reviews-rain-might-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5186","title":{"rendered":"The World Cup final will be played on turf with mixed reviews. Rain might help."},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>Players and coaches have fielded a lot of questions about the pitch in East Rutherford, New Jersey, before and after World Cup games there. Opinions have varied.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5184\">What the Trump administration will never understand about America<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Brazil\u2019s Vinicius Junior was not a fan. France coach Didier Deschamps called it special \u2014 and not in a good way. Norway\u2019s St\u00e5le Solbakken was asked several times about the surface before coaching his first game on it and came away more pleased about it than he expected.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While entirely different than the turf surface at the stadium that has been maligned by NFL players, the grass field with synthetic fibers stitched in to reduce the risk of divots and tears has drawn mixed reviews through the first seven games of the tournament there. After a nearly two-week break for staff to get it in the best condition possible, the most important game takes place there Sunday when Argentina and Spain meet in the final.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Neither team has played at the Meadowlands stadium yet, adding another element of uncertainty to the matchup.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>Players and coaches say the turf plays fast \u2014 and better when it\u2019s wet<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Before Norway faced Senegal in New Jersey, Solbakken compared the Meadowlands pitch to AstroTurf. He said the short, firm grass could be good for teams who like to possess the ball. Torrential rain fell before and during the game on June 22, changing the complexion of how it played.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe pitch was much better because of the rain, because the rain made it (so) that the ball doesn\u2019t hang on your foot,\u201d Solbakken said. \u201cIt\u2019s going faster, smoother, and that made two good teams could play to their strength, so the pitch, due to the rain, was better. I\u2019m more suspicious if there\u2019s no rain because then it\u2019s dry and short and then it could be more difficult, but with the rain today it made the pitch much, much better.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It was dry when England met Panama in each team\u2019s final group play game. England coach Thomas Tuchel also likened it to artificial turf for the shortness of the blades of grass \u2014 very different from the field in Foxborough, Massachusetts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s a very fast pitch,\u201d Tuchel said. \u201cIt\u2019s very short and a bit uneven because you see still the different layers of the grass and not fully even. So, it\u2019s quite active. It is quite bouncy. &#8230; This one was very hard and very fast but was good, playable, and no one complained.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Vinicius after Brazil opened there against Morocco and scoring on June 13 said, \u201cThe field is not helping.\u201d Rabiot, who played there against Senegal three days later, called it hard and rigid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIn Europe, we play on pitches that are in a better condition,\u201d Rabiot said through an interpreter. \u201cThe pitch was not in a good condition, in my mind. I saw that there has been also a lot of criticism, so I\u2019m not the only one criticizing the state of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Deschamps called it tough and said the pitch \u201ctook a lot out of the players\u2019 muscles.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>By the time France returned to open the knockout stage against Sweden on June 30, Rabiot said he believed there had been a slight improvement and the grass was longer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5182\">Questions about the Patriots\u2019 offensive front start along the line of: Can Will Campbell\u2019s knee hold up?<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>FIFA spent more than 5 years on the turf and made adjustments during the World Cup<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>FIFA said the preparations included testing and collaboration with turf experts and stadium operators. The pitch, with grass from the Carolina Green Sod Farm, got installed in early May.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>After the hybrid fibers were added, workers followed a continuous cycle of top dressing, aeration, mowing and what FIFA called carefully managed irrigation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The surface was monitored and tested throughout the process of five group play and two knockout stage games taking place there, including checks on moisture levels, firmness and overall playability. Norway versus Senegal showed officials just how much water the surface could hold and led to maximizing the irrigation hours before and during games, at halftime and hydration breaks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe objective throughout has been to deliver a surface that meets the highest possible standards for performance, consistency and player safety,\u201d FIFA said in a statement to The Associated Press.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A 13-day window between Norway and Brazil meeting in the round of 16 and the final was by design, with FIFA aiming to optimize the conditions. The aim was to give the pitch a chance to recover and get prepared and hold ceremony rehearsals.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h2>It\u2019s not clear how the turf will play during the World Cup final<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>That is anyone\u2019s guess, though heavy rain expected to hit the area Saturday could make it more like Norway\u2019s first game at the stadium. While smoke from Canadian wildfires leaves questions about the air quality, the weather outside of that is set to be picture perfect: sunny and 82 degrees Fahrenheit (27.78 degrees Celsius).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When the World Cup ends, the grass will be removed and artificial turf reinstalled at MetLife Stadium before the Giants\u2019 first exhibition game on Aug. 15. That process got underway at other stadiums across the U.S. after the final games there finished.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The NFL Players Association opposes that, saying 92% of its membership prefers playing on natural grass. Several players have posted on social media in recent weeks in favor of grass over turf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Washington offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil posted Friday, \u201cIf stadiums can make grass work for the World Cup, they can make it work for NFL players.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>AP News Writer Luis Andres Henao and AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5180\">It may be a Lionel Messi World Cup, but there\u2019s more to the tournament than that<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>the most important game takes place on Sunday when Argentina and Spain meet in the final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The World Cup final will be played on turf with mixed reviews. 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