World Cup Brand Battle: Nike Players Score Over 50% of All Goals

Over half of all goals at this year's World Cup have been scored by players wearing Nike boots.

Nike Players Score Over Half of All World Cup Goals

The race for the individual golden boot is still on, but Nike are clear brand winners in the goalscoring stakes. According to footballbootsdb.com, 84 of the 163 goals scored at the World Cup have been scored by players in Nike boots. Adidas are the nearest competitor but are still a long way behind with 48 goals, while Puma have a tally of 23 going into the final two games. These numbers could be slightly different come Sunday evening, but unless Messi puts the ball in Hugo Loris' net 36 times, the order is very unlikely to change.

Nike's dominance in this category is understandable as they also lead the way in overall representation, with 49% of all players at the tournament wearing their boots. Adidas boast a 35% share of players' footwear, so their goal tally is about eight shy of being perfectly proportional, while Puma very slightly overachieved in this metric. 12% of players wore Puma boots and their 23 goals make up 14.11% of all goals so far. Only seven goals were attributed to players wearing boots from other brands, with New balance claiming five and Mizuno getting two.

The third place play off gives the brands a chance to bump up their numbers but Sunday's final is obviously the one to watch, as each of the big three could see one of their players claim the golden boot. Messi (Adidas) and Mbappé (Nike) have five goals each, while Olivier Giroud (Puma) is just behind them with four, level with Man City's Julian Alvarez (Adidas). Having their boots involved in the most goals is nice for Nike, but Adidas will have the last laugh if one of their Argentinians finishes the tournament as top scorer.

There's also the small matter of who wins the match. Nike will be hoping the French can claim a second consecutive World Cup while dressed in their kits, while for Adidas and their star man Lionel Messi, an Argentina victory would provide a (very lucrative) fairytale ending.

Are you surprised by these goalscoring figures? Who do you think will win the Golden Boot? Comment below.