- Adidas unveiled "LA FINAL," a movie-poster-style campaign ahead of the July 19 World Cup final between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium.
- Lionel Messi headlines Argentina's cast; Lamine Yamal fronts Spain's.
- Adidas is kit partner to both finalist federations and the tournament's Official Match Ball supplier.
- The campaign rolls out globally across Adidas's channels and key cities as kickoff nears.
Adidas has unveiled “LA FINAL,” a movie-poster-inspired campaign ahead of Sunday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 final between Argentina and Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Adidas frames the match as football’s biggest story, casting stars from both finalist federations as the leads.
Argentina’s cast is headlined by Lionel Messi, joined by Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, and Julián Álvarez. Spain’s side is fronted by Lamine Yamal, alongside Pau Cubarsí, Pedri, and Dani Olmo.
The campaign spotlights Adidas’s dual role in the final: kit partner to both federations and Official Match Ball supplier of the tournament.
The rollout caps a busy tournament for Adidas. As a continuation of the brand’s global “Chaos vs Control” campaign that originally launched back in January 2026, Yamal and Jude Bellingham fronted the storyline as their Predator and F50 boots powered real knockout-stage moments, including Bellingham’s brace against Norway and an unbeaten Spain squad that conceded a goal to Belgium in a tight 2-1 Quarter-final victory.
Before that, Adidas turned Brooklyn Bridge Park into a football festival, where David Beckham, Paul Pogba. and others headlined its Home of Soccer activation, closed out by a concert from PinkPantheress.
Lionel Messi has been an Adidas athlete since January 2006, one of the longest-running partnerships in sports marketing, spanning boot lines, jersey collections, and, most recently, the Hora Dorada F50 collection and a limited-edition CODECHAOS golf shoe.
Outside Adidas, Messi has signed on with Beats By Dre, partnered with Duracell on its “Messi Reboot” campaign, and teamed up with OpenAI’s ChatGPT for a football-themed AI push.
Lamine Yamal joined the Adidas family in February 2024, switching from Nike in a deal that had the sportswear giants in a bidding war, and was introduced wearing Messi’s own signature X Crazyfast boot as “the only player besides Messi himself” given that honor.
He’s since fronted the Sp5der x Adidas F50 Formotion release. Outside Adidas, Yamal’s recent endorsement roster includes American Eagle.
“LA FINAL” rolls out globally across Adidas’s channels and key cities as Argentina chase a fourth World Cup title and Spain defend their standing as Europe’s top-ranked side, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET.
Takeaways
This is Adidas closing the loop on a month-long narrative rather than starting a new one; Messi and Yamal have effectively been the brand’s World Cup protagonists since the group stage, and “LA FINAL” is the payoff shot.
This is also a passing-of-the-torch moment dressed up as marketing: Yamal, who idolized Messi growing up and now wears his mentor’s old No. 10 at Barcelona, shares top billing with him on the biggest possible stage.
Does putting Messi and Yamal on the same poster read as a torch-passing moment? With both federations under the same sponsor, does “LA FINAL” undercut the country-vs-country rivalry it’s trying to sell? Could this be Messi’s last World Cup final campaign for Adidas, and does that add emotional weight to the rollout?
