The sight of the Adidas Trionda hitting the back of the net has become a very familiar one at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with 269 goals scored using the red, green and blue official match ball in the 92 games that have taken place across Canada, Mexico and the United States as of Sunday night.
However, the Trionda is being upgraded for the closing stages of the tournament, with the World Cup match ball receiving a premium overhaul before being rolled out for use in the semifinals, the third-place place playoff (or “the bronze final” as FIFA would like it to be known) and the final itself.
While the primary design of the Trionda was tricolored and featured symbolic graphics — stars, maple leaves and Aztec eagles — synonymous with the three host nations of the tournament, the fresh version that will be used for the final has been given a golden re-skin, inspired by the glorious glow of the World Cup trophy itself.
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In a move that is in no way tempting fate at all, Adidas have enlisted Argentina‘s Lionel Messi, England‘s Jude Bellingham and Spain’s Lamine Yamal to pose with the new ball, even though they all need to win one more match at this summer’s tournament before they will actually get the privilege of playing with it.
The names of the four places that will be hosting the two semis, the third-place place playoff and the final are featured prominently, too. Dallas, Atlanta, Miami and New York/New Jersey get a special shout-out in gold-block lettering, while cities that have hosted games in the group stage and rounds of 32 and 16 are included in the background.
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This is the first time in World Cup history that the match ball has been given a total visual reworking ahead of the final stages, having previously simply received tweaks to the colorway. The only question is: If FIFA is so insistent on calling it the “bronze final,” then why doesn’t that match have its own special bronze ball?
