Nike's iconic 'Swoosh' logo will be absent from the World Cup final scene, after the company lost all its representatives in the tournament before the final match.

Argentina's victory over England in the semifinal on Wednesday dashed the hopes of the sportswear giant of seeing one of its sponsored teams on the biggest stage of the tournament on Sunday.

Amid fierce competition between brands on and off the pitch, this result represents a clear win for Adidas, which supplies both finalists, Argentina and Spain, with kits and equipment.

Adidas sponsored 14 national teams during the tournament, while all 12 teams sponsored by Nike failed to reach the final, including England and France, which reached the semifinals.

Both companies invested heavily in the tournament, but Nike was particularly betting on it to boost sales and increase its media presence, as part of its efforts to regain momentum after years of declining market share.

However, any potential boost from the World Cup would not fundamentally change the company's trajectory.

Challenges for Nike's Transformation

Nike indicated last month that the transformation plan led by CEO Elliott Hill still faces significant challenges, as continued weakness in the Chinese market and cautious outlook overshadowed the limited improvement in fourth-quarter revenue.

The company's stock has lost nearly a third of its value since the beginning of the year, amid growing investor frustration over the slow execution of Hill's plan to revive the company.

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David Swartz, an analyst at Morningstar, said: 'There are more important issues, such as innovation in footwear, inventory management, and stabilizing sales and profit margins in China.'

He added: 'Adidas has gained more media momentum, but that's something we're used to seeing.'

For his part, a Nike spokesperson said the company always looks forward to seeing its contracted athletes and federations achieve as much success as possible, but stressed that 'Nike's vision for football has never been tied to a single moment.'

In contrast, Adidas described the arrival of the two teams it sponsors to the final as a 'proud moment' for the company, but declined to disclose its sales expectations.

A Strong Boost for Adidas

In addition to sponsoring national teams, Nike launched two new versions of the Mercurial football boots before the World Cup, formed partnerships with local streetwear designers, and updated football sections in more than five thousand of its own or its wholesale partners' stores worldwide.

The company said its World Cup campaign 'Rip the Script,' which featured a promotional film starring football stars and other celebrities, including French striker Kylian Mbappé and reality TV star Kim Kardashian, achieved 1.5 billion views in the first week of the tournament.

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Sales of national team kits also exceeded 2.5 times the sales recorded during the same period of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar by the start of the tournament.

But Drake MacFarlane, research analyst at M Science, believes that 'Adidas is the clear winner' in the athletic footwear and apparel market.

He explained that the company's strong performance in the United States and Europe helped it capture additional market share from Nike during the second quarter of the year.

He added that World Cup-related demand contributed to boosting Adidas's results, but its performance improvement goes beyond the tournament's impact, at a time when Nike still faces pressure in the European market.

According to M Science data, Adidas's share of the footwear market rose to 19.2% in June, compared to 16% a year earlier, while Nike continued to lose market share.

Adidas officials had announced in April that the company recorded pre-orders for World Cup products worth nearly 250 million euros ($292 million) in the first quarter, with expectations of achieving a similar level of orders in the current quarter.