With the talent on tap, World Cup 2026 is sure to serve up plenty of jaw-dropping kicks, like a ball that curves in midair to go around a defender, or a shot on goal that swerves away from where the keeper thought it was headed. How is this possible? What wizardry enables a striker to change the ball’s trajectory after it leaves their foot? It’s not magic, it’s fluid dynamics, the behavior of objects in a fluid—and air is considered a fluid, since it flows. (Kids, want to be a real-life FIFA hero?