France’s midfielder Rabiot joins Brazil’s Vinicius in criticising New York pitch

EAST RUTHERFORD: France midfielder Adrien Rabiot raised concerns about the quality of the pitch at the New York/New Jersey stadium after their 3-1 win over Senegal on Tuesday, echoing Brazil forward Vinicius Jr’s frustration with the dryness of the surface.

Rabiot, who bagged an assist in France’s Group I opener, said the ground set to host the World Cup final in July felt less like a real pitch and more like an artificial surface.

“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 told reporters.

Meanwhile, France coach Didier Deschamps called the pitch a “special surface” when asked about it in a press conference.

“I think there’s probably concrete underneath, it’s very short fibres,” Deschamps said.

The pitch felt different from last year’s Fifa Club World Cup, also played at the New York/New Jersey stadium, Deschamps added. “The bounce is a bit different,” he said, adding that his side are adjusting to the conditions.

Brazil’s Vinicius had also earlier voiced concerns about the dryness of the pitch after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Morocco in the first match played at the stadium on Saturday.

“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 had said.

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