Copa America: Lionel Scaloni criticises pitch after Argentina defeat

The Argentina head coach was unhappy with the pitch for his side's Copa America loss to Colombia.

Lionel Scaloni communicates with his players during the contest on Saturday. Photo: AP

Lionel Scaloni criticised the state of the pitch in Salvador after Argentina's 2-0 loss to Colombia in its Copa America opener.

Roger Martinez's stunner and a late Duvan Zapata goal saw Colombia to victory in the Group B clash at Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova on Saturday. However, head coach Scaloni was unhappy with the pitch on which his side slumped to a disappointing defeat.

"I think it was a shame the condition of the pitch, considering this is just the first game here," he told a news conference.

REPORT | ARG 0-2 COL

"I don't want to know how this pitch would be after two or three games. This could've been a lot better for a first game, for these kinds of players. I think it is a shame."

Argentina struggled to create chances against Colombia, losing its Copa opener for the first time since 1979. Scaloni, whose team takes on Paraguay in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday, was upbeat about Argentina's second-half display.

'Good team'

"I think they [Colombia] are a good team. They are really focused on what matters," he said.

"The most important thing is I think we faced them well, they were better at some times, some times we were better. But those are just cycles within the game and we need to adapt to them. We were good, even with that goal from them on the counter-attack, especially in the second half."