The opening round of the European Football Championship finals currently being held in Germany witnessed a clear scoring profusion with 32 goals scored, and the opening match was the most prolific with 6 goals.
Some believe that the advantages and characteristics of the official ball for the UEFA Euro 2024 finals, “Fosballep,” are behind the abundance of goals, through the large number of amazing long-range goals.
“Fosballiebe”, which means “love of football” in German, is the official ball for Euro 2024, made by Adidas, and its price reached $170 during the tournament.
UEFA revealed that Fusballippe was designed for “accuracy and consistency, supporting fast and accurate play with maximum form and air retention.”
Can we thank the high-tech ball used in the tournament, which costs $170, for this?
The players seemed to realize this quickly with the large number of stunning long-range goals.
English star Harry Kane, captain of the Three Lions, said about the ball: “When you hit it, it stays strong.”
The German Bayern Munich striker explained: “It is fast... For me personally, it is better for strikers or scorers than for goalkeepers. Therefore, I will not complain about that.”
The Turkey-Georgia match (3-1) witnessed Turkish Mert Muldur scoring the first goal for his country in the 25th minute, with a perfect shot from the edge of the penalty area, and his teammate Arda Guler, a Real Madrid player, added the second goal with a wonderful shot into the top corner from a distance of about 20 meters. .
Romanian player Nicolae Stanciu also scored a goal from a long distance against Ukraine, and he almost scored directly from a corner kick, but it hit the crossbar.
Swiss star Xherdan Shaqiri scored a wonderful goal for his country against Scotland, with a precise and powerful shot from outside the penalty area in the far left corner. There was a missile shot from the Italian Nicolo Barella and another from the Czech Lukas Provod.
While Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel said about this ball: “Any footballs in these tournaments are not made with goalkeepers in mind...It is a pleasure to take a long shot. This can provide good distance. It is certainly "It's not designed to control the goalkeeper."
Official tournament balls have been criticized in the past. For example, some players complained that the Jabulani ball, which Adidas provided for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, was unpredictable.
The European Football Association (UEFA) noted that the “Fosballibbe” is made from recycled polyester and “more sustainable biomaterials” than the balls used in previous tournaments, including corn fibres, sugarcane and wood pulp.
The ball, whose price was reduced to only $85, is sold on the Adidas online store in the United States.
Smart technology inside the ball helped video technology (VAR) referees to cancel the late equalizer scored by Belgian Romelu Lukaku against Slovakia (0-1).
UEFA is using Internet-connected ball technology for the first time in the European Championship. Which can help identify every touch of the ball and send accurate data to VAR referees.
A chip installed inside the ball sends data 500 times per second to record the point at which it was kicked.
With the help of artificial intelligence, the ball can help identify offside situations.
But in the case of Belgium's goal, the app detected a marginal handball from Luis Obinda in the lead-up to Lukaku's disallowed goal in the 86th minute of the match.
Regarding this, UEFA said: “The sensor in the official match ball connected to the Internet, made by Adidas, was able to accurately record the touch of the player’s hand to the surface of the ball... This was the first time that fast and accurate technology supported a refereeing decision during a match in Euro 2024.”
It is making it a scorer's dream.
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