Roma vs Lazio, Patrick Viera vs Roy Keane, Darwin Nunez vs the goalposts. There have been some epic rivalries in football, but none quite match the ultimate football boot rivalry that is Adidas vs Nike. So, in a very scientific way, we’re going to be using Euro 2024 to determine once and for all which football boots are better – Adidas or Nike. Here’s more about this prestigious Euro 2024 Boot Battle.
Euro 2024 Boot Battle – How Does it Work?
We’ve done similar things before, but basically, we’re going to be watching all the games in the Euros. Each player, obviously, is wearing a pair of boots, but for the sake of our Boot Battle, we’re only taking the big boys into account – Adidas and Nike.
Similar to Fantasy Football, players’ real-life performances will correlate with a number of points being awarded (or taken away). See the table below to see how the scoring works. Simply, at the end of the tournament, the ‘team’ with the most points will be deemed the ultimate winner of our Adidas vs Nike Boot Battle!
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Attacker Goal | 2 |
| Midfielder/Defender Goal | 3 |
| Goalkeeper Clean Sheet | 3 |
| Defender Clean Sheet | 2 |
| Red Card | -4 |
| Man of the Match | 4 |
| Own Goal | -2 |
| Man of the Match | 4 |
| Missed Pen | -3 |
| FBG Donkey of the Day | -4 |
Special FBG Donkey of the Day
No disrespect is meant to all donkeys everywhere, nor any of the players that are awarded our Donkey of the Day award. However, for each matchday, there will be one player that has done something worthy or winning such an award. He could have missed a sitter, headbutted a fan or taken his chopper out and windmilled the opposing bench (although we might actually award points for such a move), but either way, they’re getting a discretionary penalty for their team of -5.
Euro 2024 Boot Battle Running Tally – (Adidas 19-18 Nike)
Here we keep a running tally of the points accumulated by Team Adidas and Team Nike.
Matchday 1: Adidas -2 – 11 Nike
Germany 5-1 Scotland
After a traumatic opening day for the Scots, Adidas end on minus points and Nike take a considerable early lead. A Jamal Musiala Masterclass lead the way for Nike, while Ryan Porteous’ desperate tackle and subsequent red card sent Adidas into the red. There is still a lot of football to play though!
Matchday 2: Adidas 19 – 18 Nike
Hungary 1-3 Switzerland
Spain 3-0 Croatia
Italy 2-1 Albania
What a day of Euros action – this is why tournament football is unrivalled. Arguably the worst of the three games on paper, Hungary-Switzerland, produced the most goals, with the match hanging in the balance until the final minutes.
Spain’s heavyweight clash against Croatia didn’t live up to its billing thanks to a first-half blitz from La Furia Roja, but we did get a slightly comical moment from Bruno Petkovic that saw him not score an open goal, not get Rodri sent off, miss a penalty, have his rebound goal ruled out by VAR AND get awarded Donkey of the Day. Albania provided some early entertainment, giving Italy a scare but the 2020 champions came back strongly to see off their counterparts.
It was a great day for Adidas, as they not only clawed back the deficit but took the lead over Nike. This was largely down to Petkovic’s antics. Tomorrow sees more titans play their first games, including England, Netherlands and Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark.
Matchday 3: Adidas 33 – 28 Nike
Poland 1-2 Netherlands
Slovenia 1-1 Denmark
Serbia 0-1 England
Day 3 of the Euro 2024 Championships’ Boot Battle saw Jude Bellingham grab the most points for Team Adidas, while Christian Eriksen (who also grabbed a goal and MOTM) added to Nike’s tally. Meanwhile, the Netherlands got the job done against a Lewandowski-less Poland. Tomorrow sees Kylian Mbappe lace up his boots for Team Nike, but with the French talisman incredibly having never scored at a European Championship before, will this be the boost Nike needs to get back ahead?
Matchday 4: Adidas 41 – 58 Nike
Romania 3-0 Ukraine
Belgium 0-1 Slovakia
Austria 0-1 France
It was the underdogs’ day on of our Boot Battle matchday 4, with our first shock results of the tournament occurring. First up, Romania (kitted out primarily in Nike boots) overwhelmed Ukraine, before classy Slovakia defeated Belgium in what was the biggest shock in Euros history (based on FIFA rankings).
The finale was not what we expected, with a battle of attrition, rather than a contest of attractive football, going down. France were the victors, but not without their wounds as Mbappe and Griezmann both picked up injuries. As for our Boot Battle, Nike took back a comprehensive lead. Tomorrow see Cristiano Ronaldo back in the European-Championship fray for Team Nike. Has he still got it at 39 years old?
Matchday 5: Adidas 47 – 68 Nike
Turkey 3-1 Georgia
Portugal 2-1 Czech Republic
Day 5 of our Adidas v Nike battle gave us the best game of the tournament so far. Was there long-range goals? Of course. Was there last-minute goals? Sure. Was there worries the game would be called off due to unprecedented torrential downpours? Yes. It was a thriller that saw Turkey beat Georgia. It did little to change Adidas’ deficit to Nike though.
Luckily for the Germany company, Portugal’s win over Czech Republic did help them claw back some of the points lost out previously to Nike. Ronaldo’s antics after the winner saw him being awarded Donkey of the Day, while an own goal also deducted points from Nike’s tally. The Germans are back in action tomorrow as well as the Scots – who need a response following their hammering on matchday 1.
Matchday 6: Adidas 66 – 83 Nike
Croatia 2-2 Albania
Germany 2-0 Hungary
Scotland 1-1 Switzerland
We saw another great day in Matchday 6 of our Euro’s Boot Battle. Nike remain in the lead, but Adidas, and more specifically Crotia’s Kramaric, did wonders with a goal and MOTM performance in his side’s draw with Albania. Elsewhere, Scott McTominay help Scotland to get their first point on the tournament, keeping their hopes of progression alive. Musiala bagged again for Nike and Germany.
Tomorrow, England are back in action with a point to prove after a lacklustre win against Serbia. Will Nike maintain their lead?
Matchday 7: Adidas 85 – 91 Nike
Slovenia 1-1 Serbia
Denmark 1-1 England
Spain 1-0 Italy
Matchday 7 of our Boot Battle was a low-scoring affair until the final game of the day. With both of the early games finishing 1-1, clean-sheet points were at a premium until Spain shutout Italy. This helped Team Adidas significantly, and were it not for Nike-wearing Nico Williams grabbing MOTM points, Adidas could have eaten into Nike’s lead even more.
Tomorrow sees the return of Mbappe, but will Nike’s poster boy be back starting for France after breaking his nose?
Matchday 8: Adidas 110 – 109 Nike
Slovakia 1-2 Ukraine
Poland 1-3 Austria
Netherlands 0-0 France
Matchday 8 of our Euro Boot Battle was a high-scoring affair. Of course, we’re talking about points for Team Adidas and Nike, not just goals on the pitch. Stepanenko’s MOTM-performance, along with a goal actually put Team Adidas ahead. But a Netherlands clean sheet proved vital, grabbing a Nike-heavy defence valuable points.
Tomorrow sees Ronaldo back in action against a Turkey side that was impressive in their opener and Belgian in need of a win against Romania.
Matchday 9: Adidas 130 – 137 Nike
Georgia 1-1 Czech Republic
Turkey 0-3 Portugal
Belgium 2-0 Romania
We got more answers to which teams would make up the knockout stages, during Matchday 9 of our Boot Battle. Georgia’s 1-1 thriller against the Czechs saw Team Nike take the lead.
But that lead was pegged back following a dominant display from Portugal, neutralising a dangerous Turkey side. Adidas pushed home their advantage thanks to a sterling performance by City-man Bernando Silva.
In the late game Belgium proved to be too much for Romania. Lukaku still couldn’t get his first goal of the tournament, though, with VAR continuing to be his nemesis. That game saw Team Nike take a seven-point lead in what ended a busy day at Euro 2024.
Matchday 10: Adidas 133 – 151 Nike
Switzerland 1-1 Germany
Scotland 0-1 Hungary
Nike extended their lead on Day 10 of our Euro 2024 Boot Battle. Scotland crashed out thanks to a last-minute winner from Kevin Csoboth. Both teams forgot they actually needed to win the game until the final 10 minutes of the match.
Elsewhere, Germany came dangerously close to not topping their group. It was only a late Niclas Füllkrug header that earned them a draw against a decent Switzerland side, which saw the hosts subsequently finish first. This means they will likely get a more favourable draw in the knockouts.
Tomorrow sees Albania the chance to make history by defying all the odds and qualifying to the knockouts. They face a tough test against a Spain side that have already topped the group, and may rest players. Croatia must beat Italy in the group’s other game.
Matchday 11: Adidas 149 – 157 Nike
Albania 0-1 Spain
Croatia 1-1 Italy
Italy crushed Croatian dreams in Matchday 11 of our Euro Boot Battle. Team Adidas made considerable gains, mostly thanks to Spain and their Adidas-wearing, clean-sheet grabbing defence. It would have been slightly better for Nike had Modric not been deducted three points for the missed pen, but he made up for it seconds later with a goal.
Tomorrow sees England, France and Netherlands all take to the pitch in what will surely be another drama-filled day at the Euros.
Matchday 12: Adidas 173 – 178 Nike
Netherlands 2-3 Austria
France 1-1 Poland
England 0-0 Slovenia
Denmark 0-0 Serbia
Matchday 12 of Adidas vs Nike was a tale of two sets of games. The early kick offs were eventful, tense and goal-filled. While the late ones were duller than a car door (excluding those cool Lambo ones that open upwards – they’re anything but dull). It meant Team Adidas pegged back the eight-point deficit at the start of the day to just five points.
Tomorrow sees Portugal and Belgium back in action in the final day of the group stages.
Matchday 13: Adidas 199 – 214 Nike
Slovakia 1-1 Romania
Ukraine 0-0 Belgium
Czech Republic 1-2 Turkey
Georgia 2-0 Portugal
Anddddddd breath. WHAT a group stages we’ve had! Goals, VAR drama, red cards, own goals and a whole bunch of stunning goals.
Today’s action on Matchday 13 of Euro 2024 was more of the same. It began with Slovakia and Romania drawing their way to the Last 16, with Team Nike extending their lead thanks to a Stanislav Lobotka MOTM performance. Belgium were booed off by their own fans in a lacklustre goalless draw with Ukraine. Their forfeit for not topping the group is a play-off with France in the next round. Clean sheet points in that game added to both Adidas and Nike’s tallies.
In the final group, Georgia pulled off a shock win against Portugal to qualify for the Last 16. They face Spain on Sunday thanks to an impressive Khvicha Kvaratskhelia performance that saw him add six points to Adidas’ tally single handedly. It was a truly unique and remarkable game between Czech Republic and Turkey that saw 18 yellows and two reds. Fortunately for both sides, the recipient of the on-pitch red, Antonín Barák, was wearing neither Adidas nor Nike, so no points were deducted.
Ahead of a two-day break, Nike have a 15-point lead going into the knockout stages. Action resumes on Saturday as Switzerland face Italy and Germany take on Denmark. Who will win the Euros and which boot is better – Adidas or Nike? We’ll continue to report all the action in our Euro 2024 Boot Battle.