World Cup 2026: Adrien Rabiot raises concerns about New York New Jersey Stadium pitch

France midfielder Adrien Rabiot has raised concerns about the quality of the pitch at the New York New Jersey Stadium, describing it as “more like an artificial surface”.

France started their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win against Senegal at the venue in New Jersey on Tuesday, which is home to NFL teams the New York Giants and Jets.

Also known as the MetLife Stadium, it is due to host England’s final group game against Panama on 27 June, as well as the World Cup final on 19 July.

Rabiot, 31, started and played the full match, assisting Bradley Barcola for the second goal, before criticising the pitch after France’s victory.

“The pitch… I don’t even know if you can call it that. It felt more like an artificial surface – quite hard and quite rigid,” Rabiot said.

Rabiot’s complaints echo Brazil forward Vinicius Junior, who cited the pitch’s dryness after his side’s 1-1 draw with Morocco in their opening fixture.

“In the second half, with the heat, the pitch dries out very quickly. The game becomes very sluggish and we can’t get into our rhythm,” Vinicius said.

The 78,576-capacity stadium has had a temporary grass pitch installed for the World Cup in place of its artificial surface.

The stadium’s artificial turf has a poor reputation, with numerous NFL stars suffering serious injuries on the surface.

Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers tore his anterior cruciate ligament there in September, becoming the latest player to fall victim to the so-called ‘MetLife curse’.

Senegal will take on Norway in the next game to be played at the venue on 22 June.

A total of eight temporary grass pitches have been installed at 16 of the World Cup host venues, including Boston Stadium where Scotland opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Haiti last week.

Scotland play their second Group C match at the same venue when they face Morocco on Friday (23:00 BST).