FIFA World Cup 2026: ‘This is not a football stadium’ South Africa coach

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South Africa coach Hugo Broos said “only the grass” resembled a football stadium after a 1-1 draw against the Czech Republic in Atlanta on Thursday. 

Under the closed roof of the state-of-the-art home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS side Atlanta United, the Czechs took an early lead through Michal Sadilek.  But SA’s persistence in the search for an equaliser paid off when Teboho Mokoena converted an 83rd-minute penalty after Pavel Sulc handled inside his own box.

In contrast to the futuristic Atlanta Stadium, South Africa began the World Cup with a 0-2 defeat to co-hosts Mexico at the historic Estadio Azteca. “If I can be very honest, this is not a football stadium. It’s a nice stadium, fantastic stadium, everything you want, but only the grass is football. All the rest is not,” Broos, 74, said during his post-match press conference.

“It’s a covered stadium. I like to play in an open stadium. I don’t really feel the atmosphere in such a stadium. When you compare it with Azteca, for example, that is a football stadium. These stadiums are fantastic stadiums for the crowd, but, I rather like a real football stadium,” he added.

Broos was also irked by lengthy drinks breaks in each half despite the climate controlled conditions. “I think it [drinks break] is very useful when it’s hot… but in other cases, the rhythm of the game is lost. In this stadium, we don’t need to drink after 20 minutes,” he said.

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