Every four years the FIFA World Cup sets up an experimental lab for soccer balls. The latest: Adidas Telstar 18 and Mechta. Each tournament’s new ball always upsets some people. And the latest competition one had two balls: FIFA World Cup 2018 started with the Adidas Telstar 18 and then transitioned in knockout stages to the Mechta.
Goalkeepers took an immediate dislike to the latest FIFA World Cup vanguard ball. It wasn’t just the advanced polyurethane used on the surface. Taking a kitchen knife and dissecting the ball, shown in the following video, reveals the secret:
The Adidas FIFA World Cup ball has an inner air bladder that is perfectly sealed to the ball’s surface.