The United States men’s national team will return to the pitch at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to face Turkey on Thursday night (10 p.m. EST) for their final match of Group D play. And unlike the NFL season, that pitch will be natural grass.
With the U.S., Canada, and Mexico co-hosting this year’s event, a number of games are being played inside NFL stadiums. Turf fields like SoFi, Gillette Stadium, AT&T Stadium, and MetLife Stadium have all temporarily switched to grass fields in order to adhere to FIFA’s strict guidelines for international games.
The problem for many of the NFL’s past and current players is that those same stadiums will reinstall their usual artificial surfaces in time for the upcoming 2026 football season.
Also this grass looks great on Sofi’s field… wonder if we could get that all season
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) June 13, 2026
The NFL’s issues with injuries, specifically concussions, knee ligaments, and Achilles tendons, have been well documented over the years. If the league were to take a similar approach to FIFA and ban artificial surfaces, that decision would likely be welcomed by the players.
The playing surface isn’t a problem for the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field — but it might be soon. The Browns’ new stadium in Brook Park is expected to feature artificial turf and a retractable roof, allowing for year-round events like concerts, conventions, and motorsports.
So while the players have been voicing their concerns, the league appears to be moving in the wrong direction.
The Browns’ switch to artificial turf could have a negative effect on the players
It’s hard to picture an AFC North game potentially being played indoors on a synthetic field, but that could be the case when the Browns open their new stadium in 2029. As it stands, the Browns, Ravens, and Steelers all play their home games on natural surfaces. Only the Bengals currently play on artificial turf inside Paycor Stadium.
The NFLPA has been pushing for more natural grass surfaces, but it’s been a losing battle to date. Former offensive lineman JC Tretter, now the NFLPA's executive director, shared some telling statistics in a recent article.
"Specifically, players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf,” Tretter wrote. “Of those non-contact injuries, players have a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a staggering 69% higher rate of non-contact foot/ankle injuries on turf compared to grass.”
MetLife Stadium in particular has had an ominous history with non-contact injuries, with star Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers being one of the latest victims. Their solution was to reinstall a new synthetic surface in 2023, rather than going with grass, which is the current playing surface there for the World Cup.
There are examples both ways. The Buffalo Bills, who will move into their brand-new Highmark Stadium this season, are actually switching to natural grass in their new digs.
It all boils down to a broader issue than player safety. New NFL stadiums cost billions, and because of that, there's obvious motivation to capitalize on other major events, especially in the spring and summer.
If the World Cup’s visit to North America has proven anything this past month, it’s that when there’s a will, there’s a way to toggle between natural grass and synthetic surfaces. The NFL isn’t there yet, but it will be interesting to see if that changes over the next few years — perhaps by the time the Browns are ready to start playing games in Brook Park.
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