​World Cup final pitch: Type of grass, and how the 2026 field at MetLife Stadium took FIFA eight years to develop originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — On Sunday, the world will be watching as Spain take on Argentina for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.The match is considered the biggest single sporting event in the world, happening this year at MetLife Stadium in the shadow of New York City. There, the two finalists, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world by FIFA entering the tournament, will play 90 minutes or more to determine who will become world champion.It is a titanic clash of global superstars which will be played on a natural grass surface, one which may go practically unnoticed by many viewers, but which has been painstakingly developed, grown, installed, and maintained over a considerable time.The Sporting News explains what the surface for the World Cup final is, how it was developed, who played essential roles in that process, and how it will permanently change the way soccer is played in the United States for the long run.DECOURCY: 26 thoughts on the ’26 World CupWhat type of surface is the World Cup final pitch?FIFA mandates that all World Cup games be played on natural grass surfaces. The permanent playing surface at MetLife Stadium is artificial turf, which meant FIFA needed to install a temporary grass pitch before the tournament.The field at MetLife Stadium that will be played on for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final is their “warm season” mix of 95 percent Bermuda grass.Once the Bermuda grass was installed at MetLife Stadium, it was stitched with five percent artificial turf — the process most stadiums at the World Cup followed. Three venues used a pre-stitched carpet which arrived at the stadium with turf already woven in.Whether stitched (which took three days to complete) or carpeted, this provided reinforcement to the turf to give it additional strength and uniformity.“We knew from [last summer’s] Club World Cup that the temperature swing can happen quite quickly in New York,” FIFA senior pitch coordinator Alan Ferguson told The Athletic. “I had the option to put in the cool-season grass, which would have been fine, but it was a huge gamble and one I didn’t want to take.”Below the grass are a number of layers between the grass surface itself and the permanent synthetic surface underneath. At the bottom is a geotextile layer, followed by an aluminum flooring, which was found to be a rigid surface to negate any effects of the turf. Above that is an impermeable layer to protect the synthetic surface, and then an 85-millimeter permavoid drainage layer, on top of which goes the irrigation system and then 8-10 inches of sand which gives a buffer to create as natural a feel to the sod layer on top as possible.2026 WORLD CUP HQ:Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup ticketsWhere did the grass for t