Gregg Berhalter says Atlanta field in 'very good condition' ahead of USA-Panama

ATLANTA — One of the hot button topics surrounding the early matches at Copa América is field conditions. The tournament only started a week ago, but coaches and players have frequently been asked about various playing surfaces, given that many of the NFL stadiums hosting games use artificial turf instead of natural grass.

While there is a unique process for growing and then laying grass over the turf — which will also be done for the 2026 World Cup — the final product hasn't consistently been up to par for some teams.

There were no issues for the U.S. men's national team in its first match against Bolivia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. "As far as I'm concerned, the field was excellent tonight," coach Gregg Berhalter said after the 2-0 win. "I think it was one of the better fields we've played on in a while. A really quality field."

But as the USMNT prepares for its second group stage match against Panama on Thursday in Atlanta (6 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), there is some interest regarding what the pitch may look like at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

That's because the defending Copa América and World Cup champions Argentina beat Canada 2-0 here last Thursday and players were critical of the field post-game.

"The state of the pitch was a disaster," goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez told reporters. "Very bumpy. We must improve in this aspect. Otherwise, Copa América will always appear at a lower level than the European Championship."

[Related: Argentina, Canada criticize playing surface at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Copa América opener ]

La Albiceleste head coach Lionel Scaloni agreed and said, "better that we won or else it would have appeared as an excuse" to bring up the state of the pitch.

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