A natural grass pitch has been installed at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
The ground makes up one of 11 stadiums that will be used in the USA for the tournament that will be co-hosted with Canada and Mexico. The 65,000-capacity stadium will host seven matches, including Scotland's opening game against Haiti on June 13. Steve Clarke's side will also face Morocco at the venue on June 19, while England will take on Ghana in Foxboro in their second group match on June 23.
As a result, officials from the Scottish and English football associations would have been paying close attention to the recent transformation of the pitch at Gillette Stadium, the home of the New England Patriots.
The process to remove the artificial surface and install a grass field began the day after the Patriots' Super Bowl send-off rally on February 1. The grass was harvested in New Jersey and moved to Foxboro in refrigerated trucks before it was laid at the stadium to ensure the venue meets FIFA's pitch requirements.
The stadium, which has had artificial turf for 20 years, hosted Thursday's friendly between two-time World Cup winners France and record world champions Brazil. Didier Deschamps's side prevailed on the natural grass field, claiming a 2-1 victory after goals from Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike.
Trey Rogers, a professor in turf grass management at Michigan State University, has overseen the lengthy process of installing the best grass at the stadiums which usually use artificial turf.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Rogers said: “This was sitting in a sod farm on a piece of plastic just a couple weeks ago. Now, you turn around and look at it, and you’re like, ‘We’re playing on it!’”
Rogers went on to add: “The ball reacts differently on natural grass, and the players know that. “These are the best players in the world, and they can tell if something’s even a little bit off.”
FGG says: Relief to get everything in place
The tournament organisers will be relieved to have the pitch installed, given the tricky process of moving away from the artificial surface. The match between France and Brazil has also provided a useful opportunity to see how the turf stands up ahead of the tournament, with the stadium also set to host a round of 32 game and a quarter-final fixture.