If you watch the World Cup or any other professional soccer game you’re bound to see some incredible kicks that make the ball curve through the air. Football Physics: The “Impossible” Free Kick is a TED-Ed lesson that illustrates and explains how soccer players make the ball curve when they kick it on a free kick or a corner kick. The video also explains how the forces that make a soccer ball curve can also make a thrown baseball curve. The video also answers the question of whether or not it would be possible to make a ball boomerang back to you. The video is embedded below. The full lesson can be seen here.

And if you need some help understanding the game of soccer or how the World Cup works, check out the free soccer guide that Common Craft offers.