The 2026 World Cup is here, and for the first time since 1994 it is being played on North American soil. You do not have to follow football to care this summer, because some of the most interesting footwear stories of the year are happening on and around the pitch. Here are six reasons sneakerheads should be watching. If you want the full brand-by-brand breakdown, I got into all of it over at The Sneaker Newsletter.
1. The boots are sneaker culture now
Nike split the Mercurial into two separate boots, the Vapor 17 and the Superfly 11, for the first time since 2018. And the Cryoshot project takes historic boots from the archive and seals the original stud cluster inside a clear outsole, so the actual boot becomes wearable on pavement. That is not a lifestyle spinoff. That is the boot itself.
2. Jordan Brand is on a national team for the first time
The Jumpman is on a World Cup kit for the very first time, Brazil’s away shirt, paired with the Jordan Tiempo Maestro in Infrared 23 and elephant print. When Brazil plays in white this summer, that is what you are looking at.
3. The collab list is absurd
Nike’s X2 project paired seven national federations with seven streetwear names, including Palace, Patta, NOCTA, Jacquemus, and PEACEMINUSONE. KidSuper and BAPE built 48 BAPE STA colorways, one for every nation in the tournament. There is more crossover product tied to this World Cup than any before it.
4. The kits are design objects
Salehe Bembury designed goalkeeper kits and travel apparel across all 11 of Puma’s national teams, the first fashion collaboration at the kit level at any World Cup. And Germany is wearing adidas at a World Cup for the last time before moving to Nike in 2027, so that uniform is basically a historical object every time they step on the pitch.
5. The underdog brands are swinging hard
Skechers has Harry Kane, the England captain, on a football line that did not exist three years ago. New Balance put Bukayo Saka in a Furon v9 built with Stone Island. Mizuno is still out here on kangaroo leather while everyone else moved to synthetics. The brand pecking order is wide open.
6. It is a cultural moment on home soil
This is the first World Cup in North America since 1994, the summer Phil Knight watched Brazil at the Rose Bowl and decided he wanted in. More than thirty years later, the gap between football culture and sneaker culture has basically closed. The Cryoshot, the Jordan x Brazil kit, Bembury designing keeper kits, none of those are football decisions. They are sneaker decisions, happening on the biggest stage there is.
You can watch for the football. But even if you only tune in for the shoes, there has never been more for a sneakerhead to see at a World Cup.
We are tracking every brand on the pitch on our World Cup hub, with the full World Cup boots and World Cup kits breakdowns by brand.
Shop Your Favorite Brand's World Cup Gear
Boots, kits and more from the brands defining the tournament.
