Gregg Berhalter says Atlanta field in 'very good condition' ahead of USA-Panama

ATLANTA — One of the hot button topics surrounding the early matches at Copa América is field conditions. The tournament only started a week ago, but coaches and players have frequently been asked about various playing surfaces, given that many of the NFL stadiums hosting games use artificial turf instead of natural grass.

While there is a unique process for growing and then laying grass over the turf — which will also be done for the 2026 World Cup — the final product hasn't consistently been up to par for some teams.

There were no issues for the U.S. men's national team in its first match against Bolivia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday. "As far as I'm concerned, the field was excellent tonight," coach Gregg Berhalter said after the 2-0 win. "I think it was one of the better fields we've played on in a while. A really quality field."

But as the USMNT prepares for its second group stage match against Panama on Thursday in Atlanta (6 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app), there is some interest regarding what the pitch may look like at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

That's because the defending Copa América and World Cup champions Argentina beat Canada 2-0 here last Thursday and players were critical of the field post-game.

"The state of the pitch was a disaster," goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez told reporters. "Very bumpy. We must improve in this aspect. Otherwise, Copa América will always appear at a lower level than the European Championship."

[Related: Argentina, Canada criticize playing surface at Mercedes-Benz Stadium after Copa América opener]

La Albiceleste head coach Lionel Scaloni agreed and said, "better that we won or else it would have appeared as an excuse" to bring up the state of the pitch.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is shared by the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and MLS' Atlanta United and the field is normally an artificial turf surface. For Copa América, grass was placed on top. It was laid five days before the opening match between Argentina and Canada, and will have been set for 12 days before the U.S. faces Panama.

The USMNT has not played on this field yet —Thursday's match will actually be the first time the squad has played in Atlanta since 2015, when Jamaica beat the Americans in the Gold Cup semifinal. The USWNT played here in April for the SheBelieves Cup and drew 50,644 fans, breaking the attendance record for the largest crowd ever for a home friendly.

Berhalter said Wednesday that "it's hard to tell now" how the field looks. The team has not trained on it, and the coach only got a brief look about 24 hours before kickoff.

"What I'd say is it looks to be in very good condition," Berhalter said. "We're not sure how it's gonna play though. I'm not sure [about] the base layers and stuff that they installed it on, but you know, it will be the same for both teams."

Even so, how does he prepare his players to play on a field that Argentina players critiqued, especially when it comes to any concern over injuries, etc.?

"I don't share the same views as the Argentina team because we just haven't had that experience, so it's very hard for us to judge that," Berhalter said. "What I would say is, we prepare the guys and tell them to check different types of footwear, see how the ball is rolling, see how the ball is bouncing. Those are some important things that we'd be instructing them on."

The USMNT sits in second place in Group C behind Uruguay, which currently leads on goal differential after it beat Panama 3-1 on Sunday. A win on Thursday will qualify the Americans for the quarterfinals and if it beats La Celeste in Kansas City on Monday, goal difference won't matter.

The U.S. would love to put away more chances against Panama – something it struggled to do vs. Bolivia. Los Canaleros are a more familiar foe and the USMNT holds a 17-2-7 all-time record against them. In the teams' last meeting, however, Panama won after a penalty shootout in the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal last summer. Before that, the two sides split their qualifying matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

"I expect them to go out and compete and try to win the game," Berhalter said of his opponent. "And I don't expect any different for us. We're looking at this as the game, game No. 2. It's important for us. We're not even focused on what's next, it's really what's in front of us tomorrow."

[Related: USMNT enjoying Southern hospitality in soccer-crazy Atlanta]

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.