‘Not good!’ – Carlo Ancelotti fumes over ‘difficult’ pitch after Brazil held to dramatic 1-1 draw by Australia

Late drama in Townsville

The Selecao and the Socceroos played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Friday evening. Rayan scored a dramatic header with the final touch of the game to rescue a point for Brazil, cancelling out a stunning 68th-minute free-kick from Nestory Irankunda.

However, the post-match conversation was quickly dominated by the poor quality of the playing surface. Both teams continually struggled to find their footing on a slippery and degrading pitch throughout the contest.

Ancelotti slams difficult conditions

Brazil head coach Ancelotti was quick to point out the challenging conditions after the full-time whistle. While he praised Australia's well-organised defence, the Italian manager did not hold back when discussing the grass.

"[The pitch] was not good," Ancelotti admitted, as quoted by ESPN. "The pitch, it was difficult to play on a pitch like this. And we hope to have a better pitch for the next game."

Australia boss Popovic agreed with his counterpart, though he suggested that such surfaces are an unfortunate reality for his team.

"Because it's Brazil, they see the pitch, and of course they're not happy with it. But I haven't been pleased with what I've seen the pitch in many qualifying games, [and] I've never heard anyone discuss it after," he explained.

'It is what it is'

Socceroos midfielder Jackson Irvine noted that while the frustrating conditions were far from ideal, his team is accustomed to such challenges.

"It is what it is," Irvine said. "It's not something that we're not used to, playing in Asia, we come up on pitches that are quite similar to this kind of grass here. I had a couple of frustrating moments, which is not ideal. But it is what it is. It's the same for both teams."

Brisbane rematch awaits both sides

The two nations will now travel to Brisbane to face off again next Tuesday at Lang Park. Both managers will be desperately hoping for a significantly better playing surface, although the venue recently hosted its own NRL preliminary final on Friday evening.