Soccer-Poor pitches perturb players in disappointing Copa America

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Copa America 2021 - Group A - Argentina v Chile - Estadio Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - June 14, 2021 Argentina's Lionel Messi with Chile's Claudio Bravo after the match REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

(Reuters) - The contrast between the rejuvenated European Championship and a pandemic-hit Copa America are great but for South American players, at least, perhaps the biggest discrepancy is the inferior state of the pitches in Brazil.

Lionel Messi and Brazil's Neymar are among the players and coaches who have lamented having to play on surfaces that the Argentine forward euphemistically described as “not very helpful”.