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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<ul><li>Argentina defeat Canada in Copa America</li><li>Martinez &amp; Alvarez bag goals in 2-0 victory</li><li>Coach, players bash recently-installed grass</li></ul>

Argentina's Lionel Scaloni, Emiliano Martinez and Cristian Romero bash state of turf at Mercedes Benz Stadium at Copa America

World Cup Qualification CONMEBOL

Argentina

Peru

CONCACAF Nations League

Canada

Suriname

<a href="https://www.goal.com/en-us/lists/argentina-player-ratings-canada-lionel-messi-julian-alvarez-lautaro-martinez-copa-america/blt3bf3550fd5e7c30b" target="_self">Argentina defeated Canada 2-0 </a>in the opening game of Copa America 2024 on Thursday night, courtesy of a pair of goals from Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez.Delighted on the pitch with the result, La Albiceleste celebrated postgame - but when speaking on the actual performance, they had issues with the pitch itself.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Mercedes Benz Stadium, home of NFL side Atlanta Falcons and MLS franchise Atlanta United, is typically a pitch with artificial turf. For Copa America, though, a temporary playing surface of natural grass was laid down on top of the turf for the tournament.The grass was installed as recently as five days ago, following the conclusion of a recently-played MLS match between Atlanta and the Houston Dynamo.Speaking postgame on the playing surface, La Albiceleste boss Lionel Scaloni bashed CONMEBOL over the pitch, arguing that the federation had known for more than six months to prepare for the match.“We have known for seven months that we are going to play here and they changed the grass two days ago," he said. "We didn't play on a decent court. It was similar to (Saudi) Arabia but with the difference that we played there on a suitable field. It cannot be like this".Argentina players chimed in, too, with defender Cristian Romero and goalkeeper Emi Martinez also raising complaints.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Tottenham Hotspur defender said postgame, "The conditions of the field were very ugly. Having to play this competition with a field like this is unfortunate.”Goalkeeper Emi Martinez, meanwhile, had his own choice words when speaking to FOX Sports postgame."The pitch wasn't great - it was very bumpy - in other areas, it was very hard for us," he said. "We like the pitch to be quite slippery and quick for our style of game."

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

The two teams from Group A will be back in action on Tuesday, June 25. La Albiceleste will clash with Peru, while Canada will meet Chile in game 2 of the tournament.

WHAT NEXT FOR ARGENTINA AND CANADA?

Argentina's Lionel Scaloni, Emiliano Martinez and Cristian Romero bash state of turf at Mercedes Benz Stadium at Copa America | Goal.com

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni, players Dibu Martinez and Cristian Romero all had choice words for the state of the grass at Copa America Thursday

Argentina&apos;s Lionel Scaloni, Emiliano Martinez and Cristian Romero bash state of turf at Mercedes Benz Stadium at Copa America