Is the World Cup ball making it hard for goalkeepers?

Is the World Cup ball making it hard for goalkeepers?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Trionda is the official match ball of the 2026 World CupByCiaran KellyFootball reporterPublished6 hours ago219 CommentsHeroic 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?To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, England's Jordan Pickford got his hand to Martin Baturina's shot but couldn't keep out Croatia's equaliser'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...