German Sportswear brand Adidas has overtaken Nike by sponsoring 12 of the 32 participating teams, including strong contenders like Germany and Spain, along with hosts Russia. The brand, since the last tournament in 2014, has grown sales rapidly in areas other than soccer, capitalising on booming demand for its retro basketball sneakers and springy Boost running shoes to outpace Nike, particularly in the U.S. market.

Nike, on the other hand, which only got heavily involved in soccer in 1994, is supplying shirts for 10 countries, including Brazil, France and England. The brand expects 60 percent of all the players top wear its oots, including almost half the German and Spanish team and three-quarters of the Russians.