Deschamps and Rabiot slam MetLife Stadium pitch after France's victory

France defeated Senegal 3-1 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Tuesday evening in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup, but it was the state of the pitch that dominated the post-match press conference.

Didier Deschamps made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction with a pitch deemed unsuitable for high-level football. “It’s different. You have to get used to it. The fact that there’s a concrete slab underneath means the grass fibres are very short. The bounce is different and the pitch changes depending on how it’s watered,” said the head coach. He also highlighted the technical constraints imposed on his players: “The players couldn’t risk wearing studs, because there isn’t much depth. Since we don’t train on it, it’s complicated.”

Adrien Rabiot was even more direct. “The pitch… I don’t even know if you can call it that. It looks more like fairly hard, rigid artificial turf,” said the midfielder, before conceding that the constraint was the same for all opponents.

Bradley Barcola, who scored France’s third goal, took a more measured view. “The pitch, it’s true it’s not great, but it’s not as catastrophic as all that,” said the Paris Saint-Germain forward, who had opened his World Cup account in this match alongside a in-form Kylian Mbappé, who scored twice.

France will not return to MetLife Stadium during the group stage. They will face Iraq at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, then Norway at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, near Boston, to conclude their first round.