Contested mainly by South American players, the pitches of the World Cup stadiums undergo a load of games unprecedented in the history of the competition.
“It’s not on the same level as the Lusail pitch or even our training center,” said CBF national teams coordinator Juninho Paulista on the pitch at stadium 974, where the team beat Switzerland 1-0 in the second round. of Group G, last Monday (28).
The entity filed a complaint with FIFA, which responded agreeing with the complaint and blamed the number of matches held at the venue.
In the clash between Costa Rica and Germany, played this Thursday (1st), the Al Bayt stadium had problems. Organization employees removed tufts of grass with their hands. At Al Rayyan, during Belgium and Croatia, also this Thursday, it was possible to see brown lines of dirt in the middle of the pitch, especially during the second half.
Never before have World Cup grounds experienced such a heavy load of group stage matches. Qatar holds the tournament with just eight arenas. That’s four less compared to Russia in 2018 and Brazil in 2014.
In the last two tournaments, each stadium received, in the initial stage of the competition, four games, with an interval that varied between three or four days between them.
In Qatar, there are six matches in each field, with a two-day break between one and the other. There are 180 more minutes of football, not to mention Fifa’s guidance to the referees to be aware of the added time granted, which has increased the time.
In England vs. Iran, for the first round of Group B, at the Khalifa International Stadium, the Brazilian Raphael Claus allowed another 27 minutes.
When consulted, Fifa claims to have a plan to replace parts of the pitches in case of need. But the entity is confident that, with the start of the knockout stage, the problem will be solved.
The Round of 16 starts this Saturday (3). Brazil only needs a draw against Cameroon this Friday (2) to finish first in its group. In this case, it would return to 974 to cross the path of the second in Group H, South Korea.
It will be the last game at this stadium, which will be dismantled after the World Cup ends.
“The field is very fast, with holes. The ball bounces too much”, complained Argentine midfielder Alexis MacAllister, who scored Argentina’s first goal in the 2-0 victory over Poland, last Wednesday (30), also at 974.
The number of matches has grown with the increase in the number of selections. In 1930 there were 13, with 15 games in the group stage.
Until 1978, there were a maximum of 16 teams, with 24 clashes in the initial phase. Between 1982 and 1994, 24 countries qualified (36 matches). As of 1998, this number has grown to 32 (48).
FIFA has already decided that the 2026 World Cup, to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will have 48 teams. The format has not yet been defined.
The World Cup in Qatar is not the first in which FIFA has faced complaints about pitches, and the problems are visible. In 1978, in Argentina, players removed incorrectly attached grass plates. In the José Maria Minella stadium, in Mar del Plata, sand was thrown to cover holes.
The type of grass chosen by the Qatar Cup organizing committee is native to Brazil, the paspalum vaginatum🇧🇷 In five of the stadiums (Al Bayt, Al Thumama, Education City, Al Rayyan and Al Janoub), installation was carried out by a Brazilian company. If there is a total replacement of any arena turf at the Mundial, the cost will be around US$ 2 million (R$ 10.4 million at current quotations).
Before being installed in the stadiums, the grass was planted and grown in an area of ​​425,000 square meters outside Doha, watered with 10,000 liters of desalinated water every day.
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