Was Selecting MetLife Stadium the Wrong Venue Choice for the World Cup Final?
- La Voz Latina
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Written by: Henry Quach
As the World Cup qualifying games continue, some teams are still fighting for a spot in the brand-new expanded World Cup, which, for the first time in history, will be held in three separate countries.
All stadiums for the 2026 World Cup have been selected in the United States, Mexico and Canada, with the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey being selected for the World Cup final due to its size, major global impact and history of hosting major sporting events.
There is an issue lingering around that stadium, specifically its field. Since the new turf field addition in 2020, the field has been linked to 10 season-ending leg injuries among various NFL players.
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was the most recent player to go down with a confirmed ACL tear during their week four matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.
From 2020 to currently, below is the list of NFL players who have been injured while playing at this stadium.
According to the NFL Players Association, artificial turf injuries occur more often compared to natural grass. IMS health data supported these findings.
Additionally, in the findings, turf fields tend to provide less support for the players. The hard playing surface increases pressure and force more on the body; absorbing too much force can result in injury.
In 2023, MetLife Stadium replaced the 2020 turf with a product called FieldTurf Core, designed to feel softer for players’ legs. However, despite its improved design, it still led to five more players sustaining season-ending leg injuries.
After seeing that the turf field at MetLife Stadium was too critical of injuries occurring for NFL players, FIFA made a decision to replace the artificial turf with a temporary grass field, which was introduced during the Club World Cup. It ultimately served more as a concern than as a solution.
In the first tournament match of the Club World Cup, the head coaches of FC Porto and SE Palmeiras, and even former players, had concerns with the field itself.
More recently, when the United States was hosting the Copa America tournament, many complaints were made by the players.
However, despite the concern raised, FIFA has confirmed that they will replace the turf placed in some stadiums with temporary grass due to their ruling that all stadiums must play on a grass field.
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