Heroic goalkeepers have repeatedly stepped up at this World Cup.
Spain could not find a way past Cape Verde number one Vozinha on his nation’s tournament debut.
Curacao keeper Eloy Room made a record-equalling 15 saves as his side also claimed their first ever World Cup point.
Iran’s Alireza Beiranvand produced a string of superb stops to keep Belgium at bay in a goalless draw.
However, there have also been several instances of international keepers being caught out in increasingly familiar fashion.
England’s Jordan Pickford and Senegal’s Edouard Mendy are just some of the household names who have managed to get their hand to the ball, only to fail to keep it out.
Algeria’s Luca Zidane has already conceded in such a manner on two separate occasions, against Argentina and Jordan.
Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basil was also unable to deal with Kylian Mbappe’s effort from range despite getting a touch to it, leading BBC Sport pundit and ex-England keeper Joe Hart to put forward an explanation.
“I’m seeing this goal way too many times for a World Cup for there not to be something up with that football,” he said.
Could the Trionda really make that much of a difference?
‘They build balls to score goals’
Kasper Schmeichel thinks so.
The former Denmark goalkeeper took no chances and familiarised himself with the Adidas ball long before the tournament even kicked off.
Schmeichel trained with the Trionda following its release, in October 2025, only for his side to go on to lose their play-off final against the Czech Republic.
Now retired, Schmeichel is well-placed to give an insight into what he calls the “serious difference between the balls”.
“The thing about this one is the construction of it is four panels this time, he told the media. “There’s no stitching in it – it’s all bonded together.
“When you mix that in with the different weathers, the air density, there’s less drag on the ball, which means it doesn’t spin as much, but it also means I find it a split second faster and I think we’re seeing that a little bit.
“There’s a couple of goals where you’re seeing keepers getting close to it – Pickford, with the first goal of the Croatia scores – and you’ve got Luca Zidane against [Lionel] Messi and even Edouard Mendy against Mbappe.
“The thing about this ball is that we want to see goals, so they build balls to score goals.”
There have certainly been plenty of goals already.
In fact, there have been twice as many from outside the box (20) than there were during the whole of the group stages in 2022.
According to Opta, the number of errors leading to goals is also on the up.
There have been 11 so far in the United States, Canada and Mexico – more than in the group stages in any of the past seven World Cups.
Although six further games have admittedly been played up to this point, following the tournament’s expansion, it is still a significant increase.
“How many times at the top level do you see the goalkeeper touch it and it go in the goal?” Hart said.
“Very rarely because they’re good enough that once they do get contact, they get it wide.
“I’m noticing in this tournament that goalkeepers are getting touches on it above their shoulder height and they’re just not able to keep it out, so something is up.”
‘Goalkeeping is a game of margins’
Adidas spent around three and a half years developing the ball and carried out an estimated 300 lab tests.
Designers even tried it out in seven of the World Cup’s 16 host cities to ensure it performed in all manner of conditions.
Upon its release, Adidas stressed the four-panel construction – the fewest ever for a World Cup ball – was designed with “intentionally deep seams” and “strategically placed debossed lines alongside embossed country icons”.
“[It creates] a ball surface that produces optimal in-flight stability by ensuring there is sufficient and evenly distributed drag as it travels through the air,” Adidas said.
“The embossed icons also provide the added performance benefit of elevated grip on the ball when dribbling or striking the ball in wet or humid conditions.”
Some have clearly adapted more quickly than others, but Hart has highlighted how a number of goalkeepers have struggled with their timing and the ball’s trajectory when it’s not a curling effort.
Schmeichel, similarly, feels “speed is the thing with this one”.
“It doesn’t wobble as much, but the speed of how they strike it is slightly different,” the former Leicester City and Celtic goalkeeper said.
“It’s marginal, but it’s enough. Goalkeeping is a game of margins.”
