Pakistan, May 9 -- The grass pitch for the World Cup final was installed Thursday at a stadium near New York, a milestone as anticipation builds for the top football tournament.

The final playing surface is the result of specialist research and was grown for months before being transported across the United States to provide the standard required of the competition.

"It's only justice that the best players on the planet hopefully get the best grass on the planet, and we're trying to achieve that," said David Graham, the senior pitch manager for world governing body FIFA.

Pitch quality is often heavily scrutinized at World Cups as it can change how the ball travels: past iterations have seen complaints the grass is too dry, too soft or ...