Former England star Joe Hart has claimed ‘something is up’ with the World Cup football after highlighting multiple incidences of goalkeepers being caught out by similar shots at the tournament.
Hart, who was part of two England World Cup squads during his playing career, had previously theorised goalkeepers have been struggling to judge the flight of the ball – the Adidas Trionda – when faced with shots from long-range.
The BBC pundit had first raised his theory after England’s Jordan Pickford got his hand to a shot from Croatia’s Martin Baturina in their 4-2 win, but was unable to push the ball clear.
Hart had also highlighted long-distance efforts from Argentina’s Lionel Messi against Algeria and France’s Kylian Mbappe against Senegal, which goalkeepers Luca Zidane and Edouard Mendy appeared to have misjudged.
The former England shot-stopper renewed his theory when Mbappe scored the opening goal against Iraq in similar fashion.
‘I am seeing this goal way too many times at a World Cup for there not to be something up with that football,’ Hart said.
Kylian Mbappe scored the opening goal for France against Iraq with a shot from range
Joe Hart insisted the flight of the World Cup ball is causing problems for goalkeepers
Hart suggested goalkeepers are struggling to save shots above shoulder height when the ball is hit without spin
‘It is that shoulder height, as soon as they are not using a curling technique and that ball is not moving or spinning, the goalkeepers are struggling.
‘Kylian Mbappe gets it out of his feet, of course there are a few defenders in the way and that makes it difficult for [goalkeeper] Ahmed [Basil], but he has his eyes on it from this moment on.
‘Watch the trajectory of the ball, it is not moving.
‘It is not right in the corner – this is not me coming for the goalkeeper because I have seen this with Mendy, Zidane, Pickford – they just cannot seem to get their timing right with this World Cup football with anything above shoulder height that is not a curled effort.
‘As it leaves [Mbappe’s foot] a World Cup goalkeeper can get a step in and dive, but it seems as if it is on him before he can even make contact.
‘How many times at the top level do you see a goalkeeper touch it and it go in? Very rarely, because they are good enough that if they do get contact they get it wide.
‘At this tournament, I am noticing goalkeepers getting a touch on it above shoulder height but not being able to keep it out. Something’s up.
‘It is the brain calculation of a goalkeeper. You see it, you get set, you get your movement in and you fly after the ball. At this tournament they are getting set and flying after it but it is just not matching up with what they are doing daily.
He highlighted Jordan Pickford failing to save Croatia’s opener last week despite getting a hand to the ball
Hart insisted goalkeepers are struggling to get their timing right when combatting these shots
Mbappe had scored in similar fashion against Senegal in France’s opening match of the tournament
‘There is so little margin for error at this level, but I am telling you that he will expect to save that.
‘Lower down they are timing it sharp, but as soon as that ball has not got spin on it, it seems to be on them before they can react and they are not making the save when they do make contact.’
Despite Hart’s theory, no World Cup goalkeepers have publicly raised concerns over the flight of the balls at the tournament.
Goalkeepers at the 2010 World Cup, however, had spoken out over the infamous Jabulani ball which caused chaos during the tournament in South Africa.
The Adidas Trionda – meaning ‘three waves’ – has a palette of white, red, blue, and green celebrates the colours of the host nations – the United States, Canada, and Mexico – and is reminiscent of the 2014 Brazuca.
The design features a blue star for the USA, red maple leaf for Canada and green eagle for Mexico.
Designers promised ‘optimal in-flight stability’ thanks to its four-panel construction, deep seams, and ‘strategically placed debossed lines’.
