THE PICK OF THE WEEK'S BEST BOOTS FROM THE WORLD CUP.
James Rodríguez (Colombia) adidas adizero
adidas would have been hoping for one of their star players to step up at the World Cup, but few would have put money on James Rodríguez. The Colombian midfielder is battling the likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi as the standout player of the tournament. Wearing his Battle Pack adidas f50 adizero boots, Rodríguez scored the goal of the tournament to help send Colombia into the quarter finals.
Faryd Mondragon (Colombia) adidas World Cup
Colombia goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon is keeping it old school in Brazil, wearing a pair of adidas World Cup boots bespoke with some serious tongue personalisation. Goal keepers wear all kinds of boot these days so it's good to see Mondragon ignore the flash footwear in front of him and keep it real with a timeless pair of World Cup boots.
DaMarcus Beasley (USA) Nike Superfly
US midfielder DaMarcus Beasley has been training in a pair of black-out Nike Mercurial Superfly IV football boots throughout the tournament. Incredibly it's the American's fourth World Cup putting him among eternal icons such as Pele and Diego Maradona. The midfielder is continuing to train in his black-out Superfly's ahead of the USA's knock-out match against Belgium.
Karim Benzema (France) adidas adizero
Karim Benzema is still yet to play a game in his Battle Pack f50 adizero boots, but that could be about to change after the Frenchman was spotted training in the tournament edition boots ahead of France's knock-out match against Nigeria. adidas will be hoping the striker makes the switch having already scored three goals in the Solar Slime colourway.
Robin Van Persie (Holland) adidas adizero
Another player who must be giving adidas a headache is Robin Van Persie. The Dutch striker, who's particularly fussy with his footwear, has been training in a custom fitted Battle Pack f50 after the boots arrived late in Brazil, but still stepped out for Holland's round of 16 match wearing the Zest colourway. adidas will be doing all they can to get Robin wearing the Battle Pack editions for Holland's quarter final match.
Wesley Sneijder (Holland) Nike HyperVenom
Wesley Sneijder stepped up when it mattered for Holland, firing home a sweet strike to level his side with Mexico in a dramatic end to their round of 16 match. The Dutchman fired in his shot wearing the Hyper Punch colourway of the Nike HyperVenom Phantom boots that, lets face it, look pretty dope matched with the Holland home strip.
Arjen Robben (Holland) adidas adizero
Arjen Robben seems to make more enemies after every match. The Dutchman was at the centre of another diving row after winning Holland an extra-time penalty. He won't be making man friends at adidas either, having worn the Solar Slime colourway throughout the tournament. Like Van Persie, adidas will be nudging Robben to switch into the Battle Pack boots in time for the quarter final match.
Theofanis Gekas (Greece) Nike Vapor
There was more late drama in the Greece vs Costa Rica match. At the age of 34, Greece forward Theofanis Gekas is likely to have kicked his last ball at a World Cup wearing the Nike Mercurial Vapor X. Unfortunately for him it was the crucial penalty miss that allowed Michael Umana to send the Central Americans into the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time.
Neymar (Brazil) Nike HyperVenom
He might only have worn them for 45 minutes (despite being given three pairs - see top pic) but Neymar became the youngest player to wear a pair of gold football boots in Brazil's round of 16 match against Chile. Brazil's no.10 stepped onto the field wearing his new boots before switching back to his Hyper Punch coloured HyperVenom Phantom boots for the second half. Nike will be hoping Neymar beats any injury worries and returns wearing his gold boots for Brazil's quarter final match against Colombia.
Alexis Sanchez (Chile) Nike Superfly
He's been one of the players of the tournament so far, but Alexis Sanches and his Chile team mates were sent packing after losing on penalties to their South American rivals. Sanchez bagged two goals wearing the Nike Mercurial Superfly IV boots. After an impressive campaign, the Barca forward won't be short of offers this summer if he's to leave the Spanish club.
Yeltsin Tejeda (Costa Rica) adidas Nitrocharge
The Costa Rica fairy tale continued with a dramatic penalty win over Greece. The wonderfully-named Yeltsin Tejeda (who was named after former Russian President Boris Yeltsin!) is another player who's making a name for himself at the World Cup and helped his side through to their first quarter-final wearing the Battle Pack adidas Nitrocharge.
Mauricio Pinilla (Chile) Umbro Geoflare
With Chile out it's the last we'll see of striker Mauricio Pinilla's sweet Umbro Geoflare boots. After being brought on in the 87th minute in place of Arturo Vidal, Pinilla quickly found himself at the center of the action, hitting the crossbar in extra time and having his penalty saved by Julio Cesar. The camo Geoflare boots were one of the surprise spots of the tournament. Maybe we'll see a future release from Umbro.
Javier Hernández (Mexico) Nike Tiempo
Javier Hernández doesn't do non-white boots and this World Cup has been no different. The Mexico striker has been playing in a tidy looking pair of white/black Nike iD Tiempo Legend V football boots in Brazil customised with his name and Mexican flag on the outside.
