Mexico are out.
A World Cup round-of-16 clash for the ages at the sport’s most storied stadium saw 10-man England squeeze past the co-hosts last night.
For Mexico, a football-mad nation of 133 million people, the 3-2 defeat will leave deep trauma.
Already, this nation had a complex about underperforming on the very biggest stage. Failure to reach the quarter-finals despite being backed by the tournament’s loudest and most partisan crowd, benefitting from several charitable refereeing decisions and facing an England side who were battling both the ghosts of 1986 and the altitude in Mexico City will leave them warped and stunned.
As well as the emotional and spiritual distress, Mexico’s elimination at the hands of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane will also be a blow for Adidas, the national team’s kit supplier for the last 20 years.
Adidas kit sales will be hurt by Mexico’s World Cup elimination
Mexico are committed to Adidas until 2034 in a deal which is estimated to be worth in the region of $30m annually.
After Javier Aguirre’s side reached the knockouts, Adidas revealed that the Mexico kit was the best-selling that they had made for this summer’s World Cup as well as the best-selling in the national team’s history.
By last week, they had sold over three million units and nearly burned through their entire stock of home shirts.
Had Mexico beaten England, sales would have been further turbocharged. But now that Mexico are out, Adidas will move into a much slower gear.
Who are the remaining World Cup teams sponsored by?
The battle of the brands at this summer’s World Cup is as tight as the golden boot race.
Nike (France, England, United States Norway), Adidas (Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium) and Puma (Portugal, Egypt, Switzerland, Morocco) each have four teams remaining at the tournament.
Arguably the biggest success story, however, is that of little-known Cape Verde kit partner Capelli Sport, whose sales have boomed following the tiny African nation’s fairy tale run to the knockout stages.
