‘Deep-seamed’ ball reason for more goals this time
GUADALAJARA—It’s been goals galore so far at the World Cup.
The tournament has been one of the highest-scoring in history so far and produced nearly 25 percent more scoring than the same span of games in the previous World Cup.
One reason for the increase in scoring might be the ball that Fifa is using for this tournament.
Fifa says the ball has been designed with deep seams to produce “optimal in-flight stability,” and players and coaches say it has been rocketing toward goalkeepers at a high velocity. There is also added grip to help with striking and dribbling in wet or humid conditions.
“This ball is as fast as a cannonball. I think today and the last couple of days, you saw if you kick the ball in the right position, it’s extremely difficult to save,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said.
The games are also running longer because of increased stoppage time related to hydration breaks that are new for this tournament, allowing more scoring opportunities. And the tournament has a bigger talent gap because of the expanded 48-team field this year.
Colombia coach Néstor Lorenzo said he was not surprised by the number of goals considering the talent of the players. He also said attackers are more protected by officials now.
“They (attackers) didn’t have this protection some 20, 30 years ago, when they were hit a lot more, when rough play was a lot more common,” he said on Monday. “Today, any team that defends well and uses counterattacks and tries to play, can manage to do well.”
The result: Fans were treated to 121 goals in the first 40 games of the tournament, and many of them came from internationally known players.
More than half the goals scored so far in the tournament were by players from the top three professional leagues in England, Germany and Spain. The English Premier League leads the way.
The trend was on full display over the weekend in the match between the Netherlands and Sweden, a 5-1 triumph for the Dutch. All six goals were scored by players who competed in the Premier League.
