Meta has decided to introduce new functions on WhatsApp for the Football World Cup. They are a little hidden: the most immediate to see is the animation that starts when we select the Trionda emoji, the official soccer ball of this tournament.
The tech platforms have prepared for these Football World Cups, which are understandably not very popular in Italy. Google has launched its Doodles: is an animation that shows a tunnel during a dribbling. Once you click on the Doodle you land directly on page that Google created for the World Cup: a match calendar, group standings and the latest news. Once you open theFacebook app you see the app logo on a football field. And it also seems to have entered WhatsApp some changes in the code.
As announced by the platform with a post published on the official blog, WhatsApp has introduced different functions for the World Cup. The most obvious is theTrionda emojithe official ball of this edition. As it happens since 1970the World Cup ball is a model created by Adidas. There will be two versions: one for all matches and one for the World Cup Final. Created with four panels assembled hot and with adhesive glues, the Trionda has a chip for dialogue with all the tools that assist referees in matches. The ball must therefore be loaded before each match.
The Trionda emoji you can’t see it right away. To send it you must select the classic soccer ball emoji. Once sent you will see that the normal black and white ball, with a somewhat vintage feel, immediately transforms into the Trionda. Not only that: if you touch your finger on the icon, the ball has a jolt and some rotation. If instead you send the Trionda as a reaction to the message of one of your contacts then a message will open from the bottom of the screen small balloon fountain that bounce in the chat.
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The other WhatsApp functions introduced for this World Cup
In addition to the Trionda emoji there are two other functions introduced by WhatsApp. There are new effects to use in video calls, always dedicated to football. And there’s one too area dedicated to WhatsApp channels who provide news on the World Cup. To find them you must follow these steps:
- Updates
- Scroll to the bottom and go to See More
- At this point go to the 2026 Football World Cup Special
Here you will find both official channels with real-time updates and those opened by TV and newspapers to follow the event with background, interviews and analysis. Scrolling further down there are also the channels of the individual football teams and those launched by the communities following the event.
