Messi wearing blue-and-white coloured shoes while all his teammates sported different coloured shoes | Photo Credit: Reuters

Lionel Messi will take the field for the second time in the FIFA World Cup 2026 when Argentina faces Austria in their Group J match in Dallas on Monday.

The 38-year-old starred in Argentina’s opening-round victory, scoring his first World Cup hat-trick in the side’s 3-0 win over Algeria.

However, fans noticed a peculiar difference in Messi as compared to the other players on the pitch.

All players at this World Cup have been wearing pink-coloured boots. Different brands like Nike, Adidas, Puma and Asics have all prepared football cleats in the same colour.

The reason is based on a study, which concluded that pink’s contrast to the green-coloured football pitch gives the best chance for brands to highlight their product.

However, with Messi, Adidas did not follow this rule. For the Argentina talisman, the company designed a special edition boot titled ‘El Ultimo Tango’ which translates to the last dance in English.

These boots are inspired by the ones Messi wore in his maiden World Cup appearance in 2026.

And hence, people see Messi wearing blue-and-white coloured shoes which stand out from the others.

Published on Jun 22, 2026