Fans have noticed Lionel Messi's name written on the official Adidas World Cup ball

Lionel Messi of Argentina controls the ball during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 semi final match between Argentina and Croatia at Lusail Stadium on December 13, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar.
(Image credit: Markus Gilliar - GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)

The World Cup trophy might well have Lionel Messi's name written on it… and so might the ball. 

Messi has perhaps been the standout player in Qatar and during another spectacular performance in the semi-final against Croatia, Adidas debuted their new ball for the semi-finals and final. We've been using the Al Rihla up until now, a technicolour beast that went down well with fans – only for the final four games of the tournament (the third-place play-off, too) to bring in the Al Hilm.

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Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.