World Cup Stars Join NFL Players in Blasting MetLife Stadium's Playing Surface

Apparently, NFL players aren’t the only ones who have a gripe about playing in MetLife Stadium.

The home venue for the New York Giants and New York Jets, which installed temporary grass fields as part of its agreement with FIFA to host World Cup matches, has drawn some unfavorable criticism from the soccer players regarding the playing 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," France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said via the BBC.

Brazil forward Vinicius Junior echoed Rabiot’s concerns about the pitch.

"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," he said.

It’s unknown whether the grass surface was laid down on top of concrete, which gives it that hard and rigid feeling that Rabiot described, or if it was laid on top of dirt, but clearly there is something about playing in MetLife Stadium that, for some players, just doesn’t feel right.

The grass field will be replaced by a new artificial surface following the final next month, but overall, the playing surface has long been a magnet for controversy given the injuries that have befallen football players.

According to a report by Sidwell Health Organization, at least 16 players have suffered serious injuries while playing on the artificial surface at MetLife Stadium, the latest of whom was Giants receiver Malik Nabers, who suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in a Week 4 home game.

Notable ACL and Achilles tears suffered on MetLife Stadium's turf since 2020:

· Nick Bosa (2020)
· Solomon Thomas (2020)
· Jabrill Peppers (2021)
· Wan'Dale Robinson (2022)
· Sterling Shepard (2022)
· Kyle Fuller (2022)
· Aaron Rodgers (2023)
· Potentially Malik Nabers (2025)
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) September 28, 2025

Others who have suffered either ACL or Achilles injuries include Nick Bosa, Jabrill Peppers, Wan’Dale Robinson, Sterling Shepard, and Aaron Rodgers.

Giants receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., who suffered a fractured ankle on the MetLife turf last year, took to his social media account on X to plead with the NFL to rid itself of all artificial turf across NFL stadiums, even calling the Giants’ home field “Deathlife.”

Respect and u kno I loveeeee the giants , but DeathLife has taken too many talented players away from the game. I kno it’s not ALL the turfs fault but at least maybe it to where we’ve gotten all research done to if TURF has to stay it’s at the HIGHEST of quality possible. At…
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) September 29, 2025

The challenge for MetLife in permanently removing the artificial surface is the volume of activity the stadium hosts, combined with the projected maintenance costs.

MetLife Stadium hosts two professional football teams, the Giants and Jets. It’s also been home to some college football classics, concerts, and other events that would potentially put wear and tear on a grass surface.

In 1999-2000, at the old Giants Stadium, the Giants experimented with a grass field made of interlocking trays placed over the artificial turf. The idea was that the trays could be replaced as they wore out.

But thanks in part to the climate in the northeast and the cost of maintaining the field, the decision was made to scrap the grass field experiment and return to the artificial playing surface.

Once the World Cup ends, MetLife Stadium will return to its FieldTurf Core surface, which has been in place at the venue since 2023.

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