These issues are largely all Conmebol issues and have next to nothing to do with the U.S. The 2016 Copa Centenario in the U.S. had American involvement in the planning and organization and it was far from perfect, but it went off without any real issues. Conmebol cut them out of the process this time.
The venues are supposed to have the pitches in the stadiums and bedded in months before the tournament in 2026. I forget how far out, but it was a sticking point for some of the venues during the bid process because other teams use the stadiums and FIFA didn't want anyone else using them.
A lot of this has to fall on CONMEBOL who seemed convinced that their new pitches are superior because of a bunch of lab tests they ran on them, but anyone with eyes could see they were a disaster. Miami has a fine grass surface all year and they tore it up because of a concert and replaced it four days before the final. None of this nonsense will happen at the World Cup. Also, most of the stadiums were built to accommodate a full-sized pitch, but because a few weren't they decided to make all of the pitches at Copa the same size. Which is another decision I don't understand.
I am curious what happens with training facilities for 2026 because that was a massive issue that people don't often think about, but multiple players were injured in training (can't say if it was all down to the quality of the pitches) and in some places it was too hot to train at all. I hadn't heard about it until Bielsa mentioned it, but apparently Bolivia barely trained at all during the tournament.
Messi wasn't 100% fit before the match and I think when he is fit he still has that ability to change a match on his own, but I absolutely agree they were better once he went off.
Shocking scenes before the match, but lots of credit to the supporters after the fact. The Colombians must have been gutted and there was zero segregation and still there were no issues post-match as far as I heard. As much as Conmebol deserves the blame for so many of the issues at the tournament, security in America needs to improve drastically. Women screaming for their children, children crying, people on the ground struggling to breathe and you see security shoving and hitting people instead of trying to help the injured or prevent them from being trampled. The people who showed up without tickets and tried to force their way in deserve a large shame of the blame, but the response was poor from Conmebol and the security has been terrible all tournament and I hope that changes before the World Cup.
The Miami part of the bid package has maps detailing the entry points and perimeter fencing that will be erected around the stadium area for the 2026 World Cup. None of what has been planned for 2026 was done last night. Just greed and incompetence running wild.
The venues are supposed to have the pitches in the stadiums and bedded in months before the tournament in 2026. I forget how far out, but it was a sticking point for some of the venues during the bid process because other teams use the stadiums and FIFA didn't want anyone else using them.
A lot of this has to fall on CONMEBOL who seemed convinced that their new pitches are superior because of a bunch of lab tests they ran on them, but anyone with eyes could see they were a disaster. Miami has a fine grass surface all year and they tore it up because of a concert and replaced it four days before the final. None of this nonsense will happen at the World Cup. Also, most of the stadiums were built to accommodate a full-sized pitch, but because a few weren't they decided to make all of the pitches at Copa the same size. Which is another decision I don't understand.
I am curious what happens with training facilities for 2026 because that was a massive issue that people don't often think about, but multiple players were injured in training (can't say if it was all down to the quality of the pitches) and in some places it was too hot to train at all. I hadn't heard about it until Bielsa mentioned it, but apparently Bolivia barely trained at all during the tournament.
Messi wasn't 100% fit before the match and I think when he is fit he still has that ability to change a match on his own, but I absolutely agree they were better once he went off.
Shocking scenes before the match, but lots of credit to the supporters after the fact. The Colombians must have been gutted and there was zero segregation and still there were no issues post-match as far as I heard. As much as Conmebol deserves the blame for so many of the issues at the tournament, security in America needs to improve drastically. Women screaming for their children, children crying, people on the ground struggling to breathe and you see security shoving and hitting people instead of trying to help the injured or prevent them from being trampled. The people who showed up without tickets and tried to force their way in deserve a large shame of the blame, but the response was poor from Conmebol and the security has been terrible all tournament and I hope that changes before the World Cup.
The Miami part of the bid package has maps detailing the entry points and perimeter fencing that will be erected around the stadium area for the 2026 World Cup. None of what has been planned for 2026 was done last night. Just greed and incompetence running wild.