With just five days to go until the 2022 World Cup gets underway, most brands have revealed their hands in a boot sense, dropping the new looks that will be on the feet of the stars on the pitches in Qatar, and we’ve rounded them up to have a closer comparison.
While the battle for supremacy is about to get underway in Qatar, there’s also another battle that will be raging: the battle of the brands. With all the jerseys for the World Cup revealed sometime ago now, attention turns to the boots, and what they’ll be doing on pitch. Nike will boast the most sponsored athletes at the tournament, with a split between the Air Zoom Mercurial Vapour and Superfly, Phantom GT II and Tiempo Legend IX. German brand adidas will have the second highest amount of athletes, and they’ll be in the X Speedportal, Predator Edge and COPA Sense. Third in the ranks will be PUMA, represented by the Future Z 1.4 and Ultra Ultimate, while New Balance will be fourth with the Furon v7 and Tekela v4. Last but not least, Mizuno offer up the all-new Alpha alongside the Morelia Neo III β and Morelia II.
Here we round up all the main players from the coming campaign. Which will come out on top?
Nike 'Generation' Pack
Nike were the last of the big hitters to reveal their hand ahead of this winter’s festival of football, and it came in the form of the ‘Generation’ pack, with a metallic copper theme running through the Air Zoom Mercurial, Phantom GT2, and Tiempo Legend 9.
Air Zoom Mercurial Vapor XV & Superfly IX
The Air Zoom Mercurial will likely be the most represented boot in the tournament. It sees the Metallic Copper colouring of the pack dominate the look, wrapping around the upper with black trim running through the collar and laces and the Swoosh standing out in a contrasting white, as does that signature "Air" branding on the medial side of each boot. On the underside, Nike’s first-ever soccer-specific Zoom Air unit is highlighted in a vibrant pink.
Players –
Vapor: Robert Lewandowski, Bruno Fernandes, João Cancelo
Superfly: Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku
Phantom GT II
The Phantom GT II flips the colour scheme of the Mercurial to see black as the more dominant colour, on the upper at least, with the copper colouring dominating the lower portion and wrapping round to the forefoot of the soleplate. Pink accents pop through the 'Phantom' branding on the upper, and flash on the Swoosh and rear studs on the underside.
Players: Kevin De Bruyne, Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Gavi
Tiempo Legend IX
The Tiempo sees the copper of the Generation Pack restricted to the chromed-out soleplate for what is a "Space Purple/White/Off Noir/Pink Blast" colourway. There's a further hint on the outline of the trademark big and bold Swoosh, which, like the Mercurial, comes in a contrasting white.
Players: Virgil Van Dijk, Antonio Rüdiger, Jules Kounde
adidas 'Al Rihla' pack
The Three Stripes' pack is named ‘Al Rihla’, following in the footsteps of the official match ball for the tournament, and it sees the Predator Edge, X Speedportal and COPA Sense arriving in suitably bright looks all round. Al Rihla translates as “the journey” in Arabic, and, like the match ball, the boot pack has been inspired by the architecture, iconic boats, and the flag of Qatar.
X Speedportal
For the World Cup, adidas's speed silo comes in a "Clear Aqua/Solar Red/Power Blue" colourway. The aqua is the base colour with multicolour pops featuring throughout, most prominently on the collar and on the Three Stripes that have been placed on the forefoot, pointing straight from collar to toe tip.
Players: Son Heung Min, Joao Felix, Gabriel Jesus, Rafael Leão
Predator Edge
Arriving in a "White/Solar Yellow/Power Blue" colourway, the Predator Edge sees a white base, which allows a spectrum of colours to play out across the upper and soleplate. There’s an interesting switch up in the placement of the Three Stripe branding, with it reaching across the forefoot, as opposed to being positioned on the side foot.
Players: Jude Bellingham, Aymeric Laporte, Marco Asensio
COPA Sense
Completing the pack is the COPA Sense, and it features a "Core Black/Bright Cyan/Team Solar Yellow" look. Likely the most pleasing to lower levels of the game thanks to its black base, it too boasts loud pops of colour, with graphics lifted straight from the Al Rihla ball, representing the buildings and architecture of Qatar.
Players: Ilkay Gundogan, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pedri
PUMA 'Fearless' Pack
Encouraging its stars to not let their emotions hold them back when the world’s attention is upon them, PUMA launched the ‘Fearless Pack’, wrapping the Ultra Ultimate and Future Z in bold new “Fiery Coral/Fizzy Light/Puma Black” colourways. It's the only pack to unite the boots in the same colour scheme.
Future Z 1.4
The Future Z 1.4 features the same colour execution as the Ultra Ultimate, with the “Fizzy Light” popping over the “Fiery Coral” base. The branding on forefoot and heel also play out in the same “Fizzy Light” accents, ensuring a unique look.
Players: James Maddison, Ederson, Luis Suarez
Ultra Ultimate
The Ultra Ultimate features another smart execution of the brand’s iconic formstripe, similar to the ‘Faster Pack’ variation. As with teh Future, darker shades lend the look a deeper texture.
Atletes: Antony, Antoine Griezmann, Memphis Depay
New Balance 'Headline Taker' Pack
A pretty self-explanatory pack name, New Balance lined up the Furon v7 and Tekela v4 in inverted “Bright Lapis/Hi Lite/Silver” colourways for the 'Headline Taker' pack.
Furon v7
Arriving in a “Bright Lapis/Hi Lite/Silver” colourway, the Furon v7 sees the “Bright Lapis” – or blue to you and I – utilised as the base colour, with the “Hi Lite” playing out through the branding and studs, leaving the silver accents to pop on the heel.
Players: Bukayo Saka
Tekela v4
The Tekela inverts the colourway of the Furon, with the silver taking the primary role, and the blue featuring on the periphery, edged in black. The “Hi Lite” again pops on the branding, while the studs are green.
Players: Tim Weah
Mizuno 'Azure Blue' Pack
The last brand to reveal their hand, Mizuno dropped the ‘Azure Blue’ pack, which saw the all-new Alpha boot lining up alongside the Morelia Neo III β and Morelia II for the first time. All three were presented in corresponding “Blue Curacao/Red Brown Satin” colourways; the idea behind the look is that it represents the sea meeting the sand, representing the topography of Qatar.
Alpha
The Alpha is presented in an official colourway of “Blue Curacao/Snow White/Red Brown Satin”, which sees the blue as the main base colour, as it is with all three boots, with the copper colouring playing out most notably across the chrome soleplate, and it also moves across on to the run bird logo on the side.
Morelia Neo III β
The Morelia Neo III β arrives in a very similar look to the Alpha, only it swaps out the “Snow White” for “Galaxy Silver”, which really plays out on the Runbird logo.
Morelia II
Presented here in a look that cuts down the use of the coppery hues of the “Red Brown Satin” that were used on the other two for a look that’s dominated by the blue.
Shop all boots from the 2022 World Cup at prodirectsoccer.com
