FRISCO, Texas — Two Flamengo players criticized the field at Maracanã Stadium on Thursday night, 10 days before the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens are scheduled to play there. Goalkeeper Agustín Rossi and midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta spoke after Flamengo’s 1-1 draw with Independiente del Valle in Rio de Janeiro.
The result sent Flamengo into the Copa Libertadores semifinals, and de Arrascaeta scored Flamengo’s goal. Mauricio Rodriguez of A to Z Sports published English translations of both players’ comments Friday. On Saturday, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio wrote that the league will need to make a quick assessment of the field after one more soccer match Sunday.
The Sept. 27 game is the NFL’s first in Rio de Janeiro. Dallas is the designated home team for the Week 3 matchup, and the NFL had not announced any change to the site as of Saturday afternoon.
Agustín Rossi, Giorgian de Arrascaeta Criticize Maracanã Field After Copa Libertadores Draw
Rossi brought up the NFL game on his own while describing the field. He pointed to both penalty areas.
“You don’t even need to talk about the field, it’s there for everyone to see,” Rossi said. “The way we play, it’s unbelievable that we’re playing on a field like this. Both penalty areas are bad as [expletive]. If you look at it, there are bumps everywhere. There’s still going to be an NFL game here during the international break. After that game, I hope the field is in better shape.”
Maracanã’s administration attributed the wear to above-normal rainfall, high temperatures, and a heavy run of matches, many of them played in the rain. The field had maintenance less than a month ago.
De Arrascaeta said Flamengo needed to impose itself against Independiente del Valle, and that doing so also required a good field.
“We’ve been struggling a lot in these last few games, and the field keeps getting worse,” de Arrascaeta said.
The field has made it harder to control the ball and to play fast, according to de Arrascaeta. He also tied the problem to Flamengo’s pursuit of a title.
“If we want to be champions, we have to find a solution,” de Arrascaeta explained. “With the team we have, we can’t be playing on a field like this.”
Concerns about the Maracanã surface first surfaced in early August. Brazilian journalist Felipe Laurence posted at the time that the field did not look to be in good shape with less than two months to go before the NFL game.
Flamengo Hosts Red Bull Bragantino At Maracanã Before Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens Arrive
Flamengo is scheduled to host Red Bull Bragantino in a Brasileirão match at Maracanã on Sunday. That leaves less than a week between the last soccer match and the Cowboys-Ravens kickoff. The stadium planned another round of maintenance before the NFL game.
Stadium CEO Fred Nantes acknowledged that the field is not at the quality the stadium wants. He said the stadium has not been negligent and that some conditions are out of its control.
The NFL has played two previous regular-season games in Brazil, both at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo. The Philadelphia Eagles played the Green Bay Packers there in 2024. The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers played there in 2025. Rodriguez reported that the NFL invested $1 million in the Arena Corinthians field.
The league has committed to at least three regular-season games in Rio de Janeiro over five years. Maracanã holds 78,000 and hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics.
In 2018, the NFL moved a Chiefs game against the Los Angeles Rams from Mexico City to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum because of field conditions. The league announced the move six days before the Monday night kickoff, and the Rams won 54-51.
Dallas started planning the trip months ago. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Friday that the process has been intense.
“We sent a team in late March to head down there and look around the facility,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s a very, very, very intense process, but our operations team and really organizationally have done a great job of setting it up.”
The Cowboys are scheduled to fly to Brazil on Thursday night. Dallas is 1-0 in regular-season international games, having beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-17 in London in 2014.
First, the Cowboys host the Washington Commanders on Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. Baltimore hosts the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. The Rio game kicks off Sept. 27 at 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS.
