Joe Hart raises major concern about the World Cup ball after what he saw during France vs Iraq

Joe Hart used part of the weather-enforced delay of France versus Iraq to raise his concerns over the ball in use at this summer's World Cup.

France took a 1-0 lead into half-time at the Philadelphia Stadium, with Kylian Mbappe having scored his third goal of the tournament.

Once the players got back into the dressing room, FIFA confirmed that a 15-minute delay - on top of the half-time interval - had been enforced due to the threat of lightning strikes in the area.

NBC10 Philadelphia forecasted on Monday morning that there would be a possibility of 'torrential downpours, damaging wind, and even an isolated tornado', and issued a First Alert weather warning to run between 3pm and 11pm local time.

It was stated that a 'greater threat' was forecast for the evening. The match between France and Iraq kicked off at 5pm local time.

READ MORE: What FIFA's guidance says about World Cup postponements as France vs Iraq under First Alert

The match kicked off in clear conditions, but heavy rainfall hit the stadium during the first half and, as half-time approached, it became clear that there would likely need to be a delay to proceedings.

'As soon as that ball hasn't got spin on it...' - Hart raises World Cup ball issue

During the delay, former Manchester City and England goalkeeper Hart analysed Mbappe's goal, a long-range strike which beat the dive of Iraq shot-stopper Ahmed Basil.

Hart defended the Iraqi goalkeeper - and pointed out why he believes there is a problem with the design of the World Cup ball.

In comments that will lead fans to no doubt recall a similar debate over the Jabulani ball in use in 2010, Hart said that he thinks long-range shots are too difficult for goalkeepers to save at this summer's tournament.

"It's the brain calculation of a goalkeeper," Hart said on BBC One's live coverage of the fixture. "You see it, you get set, you get your movement in, you fly after the ball.

"But in this tournament, they're getting set and they're flying after it, and it's just not matching up with what they do daily.

"There's so little margin for error at this level. Mbappe's one of the best, if not the best, in the world. But I'm telling you that he will expect to save that. It's not right in the corner, and very rarely do we see goals going in, regularly, a metre and a half inside the post.

"This is not just on Ahmed. I'm naming Edouard Mendy, who's one of the top goalkeepers, Champions League winner. [Jordan] Pickford, England's number one. Zidane [Luca, Algeria goalkeeper] did it against Messi. They're just not timing that save.

"Lower down, you're seeing it, sharp. But as soon as that ball hasn't got spin on it, it seems to be on them before they can react. They're just not making that save once they do make contact."

Joe Hart is 100% correct about the world cup ball these long shots are almost unsavable pic.twitter.com/2nvpLy51l8

— Danis (@DanisMCFC) June 22, 2026

In the case of Pickford, the England goalkeeper got a hand to Martin Baturina's long-distance strike during the Three Lions' 4-2 win over Croatia but couldn't keep it out of the net.

Given he is one of the world's top goalkeepers when it comes to shot-stopping and reflexes, the Everton star's inability to keep the ball out from that situation was something of a rarity but appears to have been put into context by similar moments during the World Cup.

Mendy got a firm hand to Mbappe's long-distance stunner during Senegal's 3-1 opening defeat to France but also couldn't keep the shot out.