England will play at 'cursed' World Cup stadium that two players have already complained about

England could be handed a World Cup nightmare when they face Group L opponents Panama at a ‘cursed’ stadium, with France’s Adrien Rabiot and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior already complaining about the quality of the pitch.

England got their World Cup campaign under way with a 4-2 win against Croatia at Dallas Stadium in Arlington on June 17 before drawing against Ghana at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on June 23.

The Three Lions will round off their group-stage campaign against Panama at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey on June 27, with the venue also set to host the tournament final on July 19.

A total of eight matches will be held at the stadium throughout the tournament, with Brazil’s 1-1 draw against Morocco and France’s 3-1 win over Senegal already having taken place there.

However, concerns have now been raised about the state of the pitch, with Les Bleus midfielder Rabiot saying: "The pitch... I don't even know if you can call it that. It felt more like an artificial surface – quite hard and quite rigid," after France’s match at the venue.

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Brazil forward Vinicius Jr. also voiced his concerns following the draw against Morocco.

"In the second half, with the heat, the pitch dries out very quickly. The game becomes very sluggish, and we can't get into our rhythm," Vinicius said.

What is the MetLife curse?

The near-80,000-capacity stadium has had a temporary grass pitch installed for the tournament, as it usually uses artificial turf when hosting NFL matches.

Several NFL stars have sustained serious injuries on the surface, with New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers tearing his anterior cruciate ligament there in September.

The stadium has even been dubbed the ‘ACL Cemetery’, with fans suggesting the venue is cursed due to the number of injuries that have occurred at MetLife over the years.

San Francisco 49ers pair Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas suffered ACL injuries in the same game back in 2020.

Odell Beckham Jr. has also broken his ankle at the stadium, while Jaelan Phillips and Aaron Rodgers have suffered snapped Achilles tendons.

England boss Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to avoid a similar situation involving injuries to key players such as Harry Kane, with England already suffering injury problems to both Reece James and Elliot Anderson.

Despite the concerns, NFL chiefs have rubbished suggestions that the MetLife pitch is causing injuries, with Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice-president of communications, saying: "(MetLife Stadium) had one of the lowest injury rates, not just among synthetic surfaces but across the league last year... As far as how MetLife is playing, it's playing really well and it has been for a while," when pressed on the matter in 2025.