Lionel Scaloni and Ricardo Gareca, the coaches of Argentina and Chile who criticized the state of the playing fields in the first two matches of the Copa América, will face off in another stadium that has switched from synthetic turf to natural grass, the Metlife Stadium.

"With all due respect, thank goodness we won, because otherwise it would have seemed like an excuse. We've known for 7 months that we have to play here, and they changed the grass two days ago. The stadium is beautiful, and with synthetic turf it should be spectacular, but it's not suitable for these players," said Scaloni despite the victory against Canada at the Mercedes Benz Stadium.

The Argentine coach, who even hinted that parts of the field could have been 'painted' so that bald spots wouldn't show, lamented that the synthetic surface had not been changed until the week the competition started, on which the Atlanta United played their match against the Houston Dynamo the previous Saturday.

A day later, his compatriot Ricardo Gareca, coach of the Chilean national team, criticized the state of the playing field at the ATT Stadium in Arlington, home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, where his team drew against Peru in the second match of Group A.

"According to what the players told me, the field was very dry and with reduced spaces. We will have to adapt, but there is no doubt that there is always a team that adapts better than another," said the coach.

Now, both will face off in a new NFL field, the Metlife Stadium, where the New York Jets and the New York Giants play, which has also been forced to switch from artificial turf to natural grass. In this stadium, which will host the 2026 World Cup final, a "Classic" will also be played on August 3, between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The temporary change of the playing surface on which Messi and Alexis Sánchez will play on Tuesday heightens fears on a playing field that will face a double test this week, as two days later the Uruguayan national team will face Bolivia. And the Copa América will return to East Rutherford on July 9, when a semifinal will be played.