How does the 2022 World Cup ball stack up? Reviewing Al Rihla

Ever since Adidas introduced the Teamgeist for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, it has felt like it has tried to outdo itself and create a ball that is wilder and more unpredictable than the last. The Jabulani (2010), Brazuca (2014), and Telstar (2018) all had their own quirks that resulted in some crazy and unpredictable goals while being a nightmare to handle for goalkeepers. 

As a goalkeeper myself, I wasn’t always thrilled with the results of World Cup balls and how silly my colleagues were made to look at times, but as a football fan, I understood Adidas’ thinking: create a ball that will be fun and exciting for a majority of the fans around the globe. 

I expected Adidas would continue along the same path for the 2022 World Cup and I was already anticipating the headlines of some of the world’s top goalkeepers voicing their displeasure with the latest ball. So when Adidas released Al Rihla at the end of March along with the claim that it has “the highest level of accuracy and reliability on the field of play”, I honestly thought it was an April fool’s joke.

What? A ball that is accurate and reliable… for the World Cup? Can’t be, can it? I had to try it out myself.

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It was the middle of April when the club I work for in Sweden, Angelholms FF, began using Al Rihla in training and games. My first impressions of the ball were positive but even though we’ve been using the ball for months now, it’s been a long time since I sat down and reflected on the design and function of a ball, especially compared to other Adidas World Cup balls of the recent past. 

This week, my goalkeepers and I have put the ball to the test while paying just a little extra attention to how Al Rihla feels, moves and reacts during various goalkeeping-related activities in an isolated and team environment. It didn’t take long to be reminded how different this ball is compared to many of the other World Cup balls Adidas has produced since 2006 in almost every area. 

We started our training with crossing exercises from various distances and angles to get warm and prepare in several different fundamentals of goalkeeping (spatial awareness, footwork, handling and distribution) while getting used to the flight and pace of the ball.

When brand new, Al Rihla feels like it has a sticky coating on the outside layer, which can be a big advantage to a goalkeeper’s ability to catch and grip the ball cleanly — a nice change from the Telstar in 2018, which had a slippery surface and was difficult to grip even when hit directly into the goalkeeper’s hands. Additionally, the weight of this year’s ball is evenly distributed throughout, with a harder shell.

When Al Rihla is hit with the laces and with backspin it is fairly easy to read — it doesn’t swerve too much in the air and its flight is fairly true. But it does feel like it travels in the air with more power and force behind it than many Adidas balls we have used in the past. 

This is even more apparent when the ball is hit with spin and pace from wide areas. Though it doesn’t deviate from its path too often, it does have a tendency to fly off the foot and travel a bit further than you’d initially expect upon impact. 

If goalkeepers get the timing wrong on their approach to crosses and set pieces lifted into the box, I anticipate some of them will rush forward thinking they can attack the ball and claim or punch it before the attacker, only for the ball to continue sailing over their head, leaving them in a hopeless position and looking silly. 

Even though we’ve been using this ball for several months, there are still moments when it catches you by surprise and throws off your timing just enough that you drop or punch a ball you were expecting to catch.

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It will be very important for the goalkeepers in Qatar to remain patient and focus on taking their first step back and briefly pause to gauge the trajectory of the ball. Then, they should be darting forward with strength and momentum to attack it at its highest point. 

Crossing summary: The ball is fairly easy to control and read but it does still have the potential to create havoc for goalkeepers if they get the timing and/or technique wrong.

After warming up with crosses, the next step was to get the hands ready for the shot-stopping portion of our training with closer-range grip and handling exercises. 

The weight and grip of Al Rihla, in addition to the truer flight and speed of the ball, help it sit comfortably in the goalkeeper’s hands, especially from shorter distances when the ball has less of a chance to move from its intended path — though there are still moments when the ball can “knuckle” (fail to spin, resulting in an unstable trajectory) from close range.

With shots from close range, it’s vital the goalkeeper gets both hands behind the ball with support from the thumbs to help ease it softly into your grip. When we started using Al Rihla in April, it took a few training sessions for our goalkeepers to get used to its speed and power, leading to spills and errors from shots they normally handled with ease. 

Like in crossing situations, the speed of the ball can catch you by surprise but overall, it is a joy to catch.

Grip and handling summary: The heavier feel of the ball and the sticky coating on the outside layer helps it sit snugly in the goalkeeper’s hands, making it a joy to grip and catch cleanly.

Once our goalkeepers got their hands warm, we then moved on to shot-stopping, where they faced shots from outside the box at varying angles to prepare them for the small-sided games with the rest of the team. 

Overall, the flight of Al Rihla is very predictable and normal in its trajectory. If I got a clean strike on the ball, it would end up heading in the direction I intended. However, the ball did seem to come at the goalkeeper faster off my foot, especially when hit purely with the laces, reducing the goalkeeper’s reaction time to make the save. The speed of Al Rihla makes it very difficult to judge and has the potential to throw off a goalkeeper’s timing to get both of their hands behind the ball, occasionally resulting in delayed dives. Goalkeepers might find they are beaten by speed rather than simply poor or inefficient technique.

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Al Rihla still has the potential to do some wicked and unpredictable things in the air. The biggest difference between Al Rihla and other Adidas balls of the past (2010’s Jabulani, in particular) is that it feels like it is able to dance in the air — not because of the design of the ball, but due to the player’s technique when striking it. When the ball is hit with the inside of the foot from straight on with power, it can knuckle in the air, making its final destination that much more difficult to determine for the goalkeeper. 

After one of our training sessions last week, I asked our winger, David Danielsson — who is arguably the player who can manipulate the ball the best in our team — to strike some knuckling balls at our goalkeeper, Robin Streifert, so you can see how much the ball is able to move when it’s hit well. For reference, David is striking the ball from about 20-25 yards.

Though the movement may not be as extreme as the Jabulani, it’s clear that Al Rihla’s movement and speed will still have the potential to cause all sorts of headaches for the goalkeeper. 

Shot-stopping summary: The ball has a fairly normal flight, but when hit with a particular technique it is still able to wobble, dance, and swerve in the air like other Adidas World Cup balls of the past. 

Before joining the rest of the team for a small-sided game, we concluded our goalkeeper training with some distribution — both from the hands (side volley) and from the ground — to get a feel for the ball at our feet. Though the ball feels heavy, Al Rihla is easy to kick over shorter and longer distances and jumps off your foot, allowing you to comfortably ping the ball to your target — especially when getting your body over the ball and driving it to a team-mate on the wings. It is only in the moments when you stress your kicks or try to put too much power in the ball (rather than letting the ball do the work for you) that Al Rihla can become inaccurate.

One thing I’ve also noticed throughout the year is how much further this ball flies in the air than many balls we’ve used in the past, allowing our goalkeepers to launch it well into the opposition’s half with relative ease. On average, I would say that Robin has added about 10 yards to his goal kicks and 10-15 yards from his side volleys without losing any accuracy in his kicks. I can already imagine this being a huge advantage for teams in Qatar that have goalkeepers who are able to launch quick and accurate passes deep into the opponent’s defensive third at a moment’s notice, such as Brazil’s Alisson and Ederson. 

Teams that like to play the ball out of the back and like to play longer counter-attacking football should love the Al Rahli.

Distribution summary: It’s easy and enjoyable to distribute over both shorter and longer distances, and overall very accurate. 

After our goalkeeper session, it was time to join the rest of the team for a small-sided game. Adding defenders, attackers, and obstructions in front of the goalkeeper in a more realistic game situation made it even harder to follow the flight and speed of the Al Rahli. Having a clear sight of the ball and being able to follow it for the entirety of its path on its way to goal is crucial for goalkeepers, and losing milliseconds of reaction time can often make the difference in a ball being saved versus a goal being scored. 

Even though our goalkeepers have been using Al Rihla for much of the year, there were times during play when they would be beaten purely because of the pace of the ball. In the moments when they got the technique wrong as well, making a save became nearly impossible. 

With Al Rihla, it’s incredibly important for goalkeepers to get their decision-making spot on, including the timing of set position and the decision-making of when and how to dive. Get any of these wrong and you’ll be a step or two behind. 

The next video is of some goals and saves from our small-sided game so you can see what Al Rihla is able to do.

Small-sided game conclusion: Obstructions in front of the goalkeeper occasionally make it difficult to follow the trajectory of shots on target and catch up to the speed of Al Rihla.

Once training was over, I sat down with a few of the more experienced outfield players from our team to get their thoughts and experiences with Al Rihla, and how they believe it will be received at the World Cup. This is what they said…

From the central defender’s perspective:

“It’s a nice and good ball. If you hit it hard, it feels light, but if you hit it soft it could feel heavy. When you hit the ball correctly it gets really good speed. A lot of other balls move quite a lot in the air, but this one doesn’t do anything crazy. It’s really hard on the surface, which I like because it’s easier to control. I’ve used other balls that feel more like a pillow, which can also be nice, but feel a little strange and more difficult to control. It is also a really nice ball to head and control or clear to a team-mate.”
Filip Ornblom

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From the midfielder’s perspective: 

“The new ball is easier to control and hit where you want it to go. The ball is very different and much better than other balls from Adidas, especially the Jabulani, which would knuckle in the air and was difficult to control. However, if you hit this ball incorrectly or uncleanly it does have the potential to fly and knuckle in all different directions, making it quite difficult for your team-mates to judge and control.

“When the ball is new and you use it for the first time it feels much heavier than it should be, but after you use it a couple of times it only gets better. The other thing I noticed is if you play on artificial grass or if the pitch is very dry that the ball can be a little bit sticky and get stuck on your foot when you dribble. But when the pitch has water on it and is a little damp, I must say that I love this ball.”
Christian Ljungberg

From the striker’s perspective:

When talking about shooting the ball…

“I like the ball and it’s easy to get a good hit on the ball, but only if you are concentrated. There is only a small area on the ball where you can hit it pure and if you strike it outside of that area while shooting, it has the potential to go really crooked. If you concentrate and hit the ball how you’re supposed to, in the sweet spot, you can have a really nice contact and hit it hard and accurately, both with the laces and inside of the foot. However, if you relax too much, it can fly 10 yards over the goal or wide of the goal. Otherwise, I really like to shoot with this ball.” 

When dealing with long balls from the defenders or goalkeeper…

“The ball doesn’t change trajectory in the air. It follows an accurate path and goes where you expect it to. You can read relatively quickly where a long ball is coming and, as a forward who loves to take the duels in the air, I can stand in the correct spot and time my challenge well. Then it’s up to me to win them, which I do often (he says with a smile).

“I like the ball, I don’t have anything negative to say about it.”
Johan Oremo

After using the ball for much of the past six months, I think Adidas achieved what it wanted in creating a ball that is fast, accurate and reliable for the World Cup in Qatar. As a goalkeeper who has had to deal with the unpredictability of the Telstar and Jabulani, it’s a breath of fresh air to have a more “normal” and realistic ball. I believe most of the goalkeepers at this winter’s tournament will agree.

(Top photo: Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images; design: Sam Richardson)

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