France was the ultimate victor in the 2018 World Cup, but its footwear and uniform outfitter, Nike, also came away with major success in the tournament.
After France defeated Croatia in the championship match Sunday, Nike was quick to celebrate the country’s second-ever World Cup victory by publicizing the addition of a second star to the team’s kit. Limited quantities of the updated shirt were made available on Nike.com and at Nike stores in Paris and Moscow.
The brand also wasted no time touting its own success throughout the four-week sports spectacle. It was a record-breaking tournament for Nike, which for the first time had both teams in the final game wearing its product. It also sponsored three of the four teams in the semifinals, with England in addition to France and Croatia on the pitch in the Swoosh.
A total of 10 of the 32 participating countries wore the brand’s kits in the tournament. And according to Nike, over 65 percent of the minutes played on-pitch were by athletes wearing its football boots.
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There was also much individual success by Nike athletes in the 2018 World Cup. England’s Harry Kane earned the Golden Boot award for most goals scored (6) throughout the tournament, Croatia’s Luka Modric was awarded the Golden Ball for best player, and Belgium goalie Thibaut Courtois won 2018’s Golden Glove.
France’s 19-year-old star Kylian Mbappe, who Nike had been featuring in commercial campaigns before the World Cup kicked off, capped off the brand’s success nicely by scoring a goal in the final game to help France secure its 4-2 victory over Croatia.
Perhaps the most impressive statistic of all, 100 goals were scored by players in Nike boots during competition. And the Mercurial 360 was the specific model to score the most, with a total of 66 goals.
