Every iconic World Cup moment ever created – with the exception of Diego Maradona’s hand, Luis Suarez’s infamous goal-line clearance against Ghana or Iran’s Milan Mohammadi acrobatic attempt of a throw-in – has been launched into footballing legend by what is worn on player’s feet every four years: the humble football boot.
Over the years, football boots have gone from default rigorous, all-black leather constructs to cutting-edge technologies, with synthetic knits, ergonomic studs and wild designs now very much in vogue for the current generation of players who will kick off the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The days of the game’s purist’s eyebrows being raised at brightly-colored boots are long gone. Now, you’ll see Lionel Messi take to the field in a super-light, special-edition adidas Speedportal ‘Leyenda’ commemorating his legacy as one of the game’s all-timers, Nike revealing a gold-tipped ‘Generation Pack’ for all their players to wear part in this year’s tournament, and Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka will take to the field in Qatar wearing the first-ever Stone Island and New Balance collaborative football boot: a camouflage Furon v7.
The game has changed for the better when it comes to football boots, allowing players an unparalleled amount of self-expression on the primary tools they will be creating this November/December. But while much has changed on foot in World Cups gone by, nothing beats a healthy dose of nostalgia in looking back at the boots that have already solidified their status in footballing folklore.
From Pelé and Maradona’s legendary goal-scoring antics wearing PUMA Kings, through to Kylian Mbappé making history in a pair of Nike Mercurials, Hypebeast took a look back at the most iconic World Cup boots of all time, just before the 2022 World Cup gets underway. Let’s get stuck in.
Pelé: 1974 PUMA KING
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When it comes to iconic World Cup football boots, the PUMA King’s reign spanned decades, rather than one-off moments. After Eusebio finished the 1966 World Cup as top scorer donning PUMA’s – despite England’s famous win on home soil – the 1970 tournament belonged to another legendary Brazilian: Pelé. Donning a specially-crafted pair – the ‘PUMA King Pelé’ – at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Pelé would go on to win the ‘Player of the Tournament’, scoring four goals in the process.
Ahead of the curve when it came to marketing tactics at World Cups, Pelé asked the referee to stop the match minutes before the final whistle in order to tie his laces, with television cameras would broadcast a close-up image of the new King Pelé’s around the world. An iconic football boot was born.
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Diego Maradona’s 1986 World Cup is arguably the most iconic individual tournament in football history. Aside from creating one of the most infamous moments in the history of sports with his hand against Peter Shilton, he would also do what is still argued to be the greatest goal of all time against England in the same game, all while donning a pair of PUMA Kings.
Gary Lineker: adidas Stratos 2000
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Gary Lineker might have been dumped out of proceedings by the man above him in this list, but his six goals in a pair of Adidas Stratos 2000s at the 1986 FIFA World Cup wrote himself into Three Lions history by becoming the tournament’s top scorer that year. While he still holds England’s record for goals in the World Cup (10) largely due to his goal-scoring prowess in the model, scoring a vital hat-trick to send his side through to the last 16 against Poland. But he might not hold that record for much longer. Fresh from bagging six himself in 2018, Harry Kane will be looking to emulate that figure for The Three Lions in a pair of Nike Phantoms in Qatar, where he’s only four goals off equalling Lineker’s feat.
Davor Suker: Latto Stadio Classic
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Davor Suker. 1998. Not only blessed with being able to wear one of the best World Cup shirts of all time, but also one of the most underrated cleats to boot. The Croatian striker scored twice during the group stages donning the model, before scoring against Romania, Germany, France, and finally the Netherlands in the third-place playoff. Lotto love for the shot above, too. Checkerboard gradient kit. Throwback collar. Sock tape. Massive shin pads. And to cap it all off, a pair of absolutely huge lime green Lotto tongues. This is football heritage.
Zinedine Zidane: adidas Predator
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Ah, Zizou. A god amongst mortals on his day – and his day, more often than not, just happened to be every major international football tournament he played in, wearing his favoured Adidas Predators. By the time it came to 2006, Zizou earned the right to wear his iconic golden Predator Absolutes, which he donned to launch Italian centre half Marco Materazzi into orbit after head butting him in the World Cup Final that Italy would go on to win. But cast your mind back to the 1998 final, and you’ll fully understand why The Three Stripes turned his Predators gold. A final with legends galore in Roberto Carlos, Petit, Ronaldo, Desailly, Cafu and countless others, Zidane was the man who made this game his own and bring home France’s first-ever World Cup on home soil and join footballing immortality.
Ronaldo: Mercurial Vapor
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R9 might have missed out in 1998, but four years later, locked and loaded with just a fringe and the first-ever pair of Nike’s game-changing Mercurial Vapor boot line, he secured ultimate glory. Ronaldo Nazario truly earned his “El Phenomenon” nickname in the 2002 World Cup in Japan/South Korea, where he single-handedly dismantled Germany in the final and scoring a brace against Oliver Khan, fully redeeming Brazil’s final battering four years before.
Xabi Alonso: adidas adiPURE
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Andres Iniesta might have won Spain the World Cup that year clad in a pair of Nike seen in the image above, adidas’ adiPURE model was the most prevalent boot of the 2010 World Cup final. And when it comes to infamous moments from finals in years gone by, it doesn’t get much more infamous than Nigel de Jong big-booting Xabi Alonso in the chest while the duo both wore the black and yellow adiPURE’s. Despite nearly having his rib cage broken by the Dutch defensive midfielder, Xabi would have the last laugh, when his midfield partner would score one of the most iconic goals in Spanish football history in the dying minutes of the game.
Mario Götze: Nike Magista Obra
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It seems like forever ago that a wünderkid named Mario Götze scored an extra-time winner against Argentina in the World Cup Final to make Germany world champions for a fourth time donning a pair of fluorescent Nike Magista Obras. But these boots would go far beyond an impact on the pitch. The left boot, responsible for scoring the game winner and breaking Argentinian hearts, ended up being auctioned off for €2m with all proceeds going to German charity ‘A Heart for Children’.
Kylian Mbappé: Mercurial Superfly 360
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Kylian Mbappé instantly became the latest golden boy of world football wearing the Mercurial Superfly 360 during the 2018 World Cup. The boy from Bondy shot himself to superstardom by becoming the second teenager, after Pelé at the top of this list, to score in a World Cup Final, and with four goals in the tournament he received the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award. With his star rising as quickly as his sprint speed in the model ever since, Kylian will be looking to do it all again over the next few months, this time donning his own signature pair of Mercurials.
Honorable Mention: Ronaldo Nazario Nike R9 1998 World Cup Special
While R9 would secure his first World Cup in Mercurial Vapors in 2002, R9 would kick off the Mercurial franchise in 1998, with the combination of silver, yellow and blue on the boots still live long in the memory. R9 famously sported the iconic pair of boots during the World Cup, where he scored four goals as Brazil finished as runners-up, beaten in the final by a Zinedine Zidane-inspired France. But while results are things of the past, drip is forever. And R9’s 1998’s Mercurial model will always hold a place in iconic football boot lists. Put simply, these are phenomenal – and legitimately changed the game.
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