- Jude Bellingham scored a brace in 98 seconds, the fastest ever by an England player at a World Cup, in the Predator Elite FT during England's 3-2 Round of 16 win over Mexico on July 5, sending the Three Lions to face Norway in the quarterfinals.
- Lamine Yamal and Spain enter the Round of 16 unbeaten and yet to concede a goal, with Yamal wearing the F50 Elite against Portugal.
- Adidas tied its "choose a side" campaign directly to the tournament: Bellingham, Yamal, and Lionel Messi were photographed together with the official World Cup final match ball, reinforcing Predator vs. F50 as a live storyline rather than a pre-tournament ad.
- Both boots remain retail-available (€270-280), with sales momentum now driven by real knockout-stage performances rather than campaign hype alone.
Six months after launch, Adidas’s “choose a side” campaign is playing out for real. Jude Bellingham, the face of the Predator Elite FT, delivered the moment the campaign promised: two goals in two minutes against Mexico in the Round of 16, the fastest brace by an England player in World Cup history.
The goals sent England through to a quarterfinal against Norway in Miami and gave Bellingham four goals for the tournament, one behind Harry Kane for the team lead.
On the F50 side, Lamine Yamal and Spain have been the tournament’s most complete team, unbeaten with zero goals conceded through four matches heading into their Round of 16 clash with Portugal.
Yamal, who took over Barcelona’s iconic No. 10 shirt from Messi last season, continues to round into form after an earlier injury scare, still wearing the F50 Elite he fronted alongside his Sp5der x Adidas F50 Formotion release.
Adidas has leaned into the moment, pairing Bellingham and Yamal with Lionel Messi, fresh off fronting the brand’s Hora Dorada F50 collection, for promotional shots with the tournament’s final match ball, an unmistakable signal about which players it wants front and center as the knockout rounds narrow.
Takeaways
What started as a marketing “choose a side” gimmick has turned into an accidental scouting report. Bellingham has delivered exactly the composed, clutch moments Predator promised; Yamal and Spain have embodied the explosive unpredictability F50 was built to sell.
Adidas didn’t just get a campaign; it got real-time proof of concept, with the brand’s two boot lines now shadowing two genuine World Cup contenders deep into the tournament.
Does Bellingham’s brace against Mexico make Predator’s “control” positioning look prophetic, or just lucky timing? Could a Bellingham vs. Yamal knockout-stage meeting (England vs. Spain) turn this ad campaign into the tournament’s defining subplot? How much does real-world performance during a World Cup actually move footwear sales versus pure campaign spend?
