Nike is set to offer a slew of kits ahead of this summer’s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, but the American sportswear giant is already having a bit of a problem.
Nike promotes its World Cup uniforms in a blockbuster ad (Image: Nike)
Chelsea and England star Cole Palmer is the star of Nike’s World Cup ad, despite being left at home. The American sportswear giant ended its pre-competition television advertising this week.
Nike plans to provide kits to many of the countries competing in the United States, Mexico and Canada. To kick off the advertising campaign, it released a six-minute video featuring some of soccer’s biggest stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
They were joined by icons such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Didier Drogba and Eric Cantona, as well as four-time NBA champion LeBron James and celebrities Kim Kardashian and Travis Scott. Hollywood star Channing Tatum also appears as Erling Haaland’s stunt double.
One surprise member was Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer, who was seen wearing an England shirt with the number 20 on the front.
Cole Palmer continues to promote Nike’s World Cup kit despite being left out of the England squad (Image: Nike)
The only problem is that the midfielder won’t even be in the World Cup. The former Manchester City player was one of a number of surprise omissions made by manager Thomas Tuchel when selecting his 26-man squad.
Speaking about the decision, the England manager said:
He added: “Very difficult decisions, painful conversations. It’s difficult for the players and it’s difficult to explain to the players.”
(Image: Nike)
“That’s what we’re trying to achieve as a team, and we’re trying to name a balanced team. It was obvious that out of those 55 players, if everyone was selected, we had to keep some extraordinary talent and some extraordinary personalities on the team.”
“Either way, if we pick all these names, some other Big Five names will come up and we’ll be talking about those names. That comes with work.”
Eric Cantona also appears in Nike’s campaign (Image: Nike)
“I like these kinds of decisions, even if it sometimes takes weeks or even months to clarify them. I think they bring clarity. Ultimately, they give you a certain edge that you need.”
“Did they do something bad? No. Could they be in camp? Yes. 100% definitely. But for some of them, it’s just the number of players in certain positions.”
(Image: Nike)
“We didn’t want to play the players too much out of position and we wanted to give them a clear role, but it will be difficult and probably involve tough choices in the preparation for the tournament.”
England will no doubt be hoping for success without Palmer. The Three Lions begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Texas, ahead of matches against Ghana and Panama.
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