We’re now into the knockout phase of this year’s 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and we’ve seen history and upsets being made before we even reach the finals. We now look at some of the players and what boots they’re wearing so that those female athletes inspired by their success can follow their ‘boot‘steps!
Now first off, we have Lauren Hemp wearing Nike’s newest silo, the Phantom Luna. It’s a boot that Nike markets as ‘By Her, For Her,’ meaning that the Luna is designed to address the female player’s anatomical needs when its comes to football boots. So what you get with the Luna is a really close fit meant to address the generally narrow foot shape of a woman athlete. The cutout from the promo counter is great at providing comfort at the heel, and the Gripknit ribbed texturing adds optimal ball grip that is perfect for dragging and putting spin on the ball. Phantom Luna has on its forefoot sole a circular formation of bladed studs called Cyclone 360, which aims to give good traction when you’re on your toes and ease of rotation when you want to twist and pivot.
Next up we have the likes of Ella Toone, Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh going for the Luna’s sister silo, the Phantom GX.
Now the main draw of this boot is the sticky yarn Gripknit technology that is weaved directly alongside high-tenacity yarns for an overall pliable and grippy knitted upper. So not only do you get more ball grip here than the Luna, but you also get a more relaxed fit plus an upper and a soleplate that flexes really well with your feet’s movement. You can get the GX with a DF collar and a Ghost Lacing cover or a low-cut finish.
2023 is a brand new start for the Tiempo Legend, as it has moved on from K-leather and applies a synthetic leather instead for its upper called FlyTouch Plus. It’s a material that is soft on-feet and dampens the ball touch just like a leather boot does. It won’t mould around your feet like a natural premium leather does as the synthetic nature prevents FlyTouch Plus for overstretching, but the Flyknit tongue, the width of the soleplate and the inherent pliability of FlyTouch still make up for a comfortable fit and feel. Such is the experience of the likes of Lucy Bronze, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Demi Stokes.
With its trademark narrow-fitting, strapped-in profile, the Mercurial has always been the go-to choice for women regarding getting a pair of Nike football boots. They are perfect for players on the run up front because of the Air Zoom cushioning technology that softens every step of your acceleration. Ball touch is crips and barefoot because of the thin Vaporposite+ upper. The Mercurials are worn by Chloe Kelly (high-cut Superfly) and Lauren James (low-cut Vapor).
Now on the adidas front, we have Alessia Russo scoring his first World Cup goal wearing the Predator Accuracy and Miyazawa Hinata leading the goal race at the moment with her X Crazyfast. Both are wearing the laceless models. With the former she gets the best ball grip there is in a football boot thanks to the Accuracy’s High-Definition grip elements. The latter gets a boost of speed from the snappy responsiveness of her Speedframe outsole, plus the lightweight and thin profile of the Aeropacity Speedskin upper.
