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Britannica’s Football (Soccer) Set Piece Game
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Photo and labeled diagram of the Trionda soccer ball used in FIFA 2026, featuring red, blue, and green panels for host countries, four aerodynamic panels, a motion sensor chip, and counterweights for balance. Diagram of a football penalty kick showing a ball on the penalty spot, a yellow aiming line toward the center of the goal, and a simplified goalkeeper standing in front of the net.
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External Websites
Photo and labeled diagram of the Trionda soccer ball used in FIFA 2026, featuring red, blue, and green panels for host countries, four aerodynamic panels, a motion sensor chip, and counterweights for balance.
Inside the Trionda: The 2026 FIFA World Cup Ball An annotated image of the Trionda, the official match ball of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, highlights its design and technology. The ball features red, blue, and green colors representing cohosts Canada, the United States, and Mexico; a four-panel construction; aerodynamic seams and grooves; and a side-mounted motion sensor chip with counterweights for balance.

Britannica’s Football (Soccer) Set Piece Game

Use physics to bend the ball like Beckham
Written by
Tushaar Kuthiala
Tushaar Kuthiala has over a decade of experience in news media, content creation, and digital marketing. Over the course of his career, Tushaar has written features and articles on sports, geopolitics,...
Tushaar Kuthiala
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Have you ever seen a football swerve through the air and sail into the net past a desperately diving goalkeeper? It’s not magic, just physics! Football (soccer) players can make the ball move through the air in various ways by striking it at precise angles to generate extreme spin; aerodynamics and gravity then do the rest, producing a seemingly impossible curving shot or pass. The scientific principles at play include the Magnus effect, which is when an air pressure imbalance is created by the spin of the ball, and Newton’s third law of motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). Specialist free-kick takers such as Brazil’s Roberto Carlos and England’s David Beckham have demonstrated an ability to make the ball bend and dip almost at will, scoring some spectacular goals in the process.

Try out the game below and see if you can emulate the football (and physics) skills of great players to curl a shot around a defensive wall and past the goalkeeper, or score a penalty kick.

Tushaar Kuthiala
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