Posted on 06/19/2018 10:41:19 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
Every four years there’s a new ball for the World Cup—and every four years players are unhappy with it. Maybe it’s too light and has too much lift, like the 2002 Fevernova. Or maybe it wobbles unexpectedly in the air, making it harder for goalies to predict its motion, like the 2006 Teamgist. Or maybe the ball suddenly changes speed, dropping out of the air and causing accidental handballs, like the 2010 Jabulani.
At the World Cup level, these tiny changes in a ball’s aerodynamics can legitimately impact a team’s performance, so the intense scrutiny of the World Cup ball is perhaps to be expected. “You could argue that it’s the most important piece of equipment in the most popular sport in the world,” says John Eric Goff, Professor of Physics at University of Lynchburg.
Adidas designs every World Cup ball, and on top of being a big seller for them, engineers at the company are constantly a little closer to the perfect ball, Goff says. The ideal soccer ball is a pimple-covered, perfect sphere, its surface just subtly textured enough to keep the airflow around the ball slightly turbulent. Unintuitive as this might sound, the ridges and pimples on the ball make it more aerodynamic, helping the ball to fly through the air more stably.
The Telstar 18, the design for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, is as close to a perfect sphere as you can get.
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
Mario Gomez comes in.
He can do it.
Yep.
Or Reus!
From Gomez touch.
Germany 1-1
That’s more like it.
That was magic!
OMG Toni Kroos having the worst game I ever seen him have scores free kick goal in added time!!!
Germany 2-1 Sweden!!!
The heart of a champion.
FT: Germany 2-1 Sweden
Feels almost like winning the WC, it was said - LOL!
I was totally feeling bad for Kroos.
So happy for him.
Boateng needs a kick in the pants though.
Sweden sunk both Netherlands and Italy.
Germany play South Korea
And Sweden play mexico
:)
Fireworks went off outside our window.
Germany have pulled their feet out of the fire in Sochi, scoring the decisive goal deep into stoppage time to ensure they remain masters of their own destiny in the World Cup group stages.
http://www.dw.com/en/toni-kroos-curler-rescues-germany-at-the-last-against-sweden/a-44364719
Toni Kroos
https://youtu.be/HBmsR_01LzM
Argentina squad revolt after attempted coup to axe failing manager Jorge Sampaoli
Two German officials applauded Sweden
https://www.svt.se/sport/fotboll/storbrak-efter-slutsignalen-janne-andersson-skogstokig
| Group E | GP | W | D | L | F | A | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 BrazilBRA |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
2 SwitzerlandSUI |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
3 SerbiaSRB |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
4 Costa RicaCRC |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| Group F | GP | W | D | L | F | A | GD | P |
1 MexicoMEX |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
2 GermanyGER |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
3 SwedenSWE |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
4 South KoreaKOR |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
Germany beats South Korea by at least 2 goals then they are through to the 8th Finals (last 16).
That’s what would be guaranteed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.