By Daniel Kay

NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters Sports Service) - Nike's famous "Swoosh" logo will be conspicuously absent from the scene at the World Cup final.

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

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

Adidas sponsored 14 national teams during the tournament, while none of the 12 teams sponsored by Nike reached the final, including England and France, who reached the semi-finals.

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

However, any potential boost that the World Cup might have provided would not have fundamentally changed the company's trajectory.

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

The company's stock has lost nearly a third of its value since the beginning of the year, as investors grow increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of progress in Hill's plan to revive the company.

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 received more media attention, but that's something we're used to seeing."

For his part, a Nike spokesperson said that the company always looks forward to seeing its athletes and partner associations 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 two teams it sponsors reaching the final as a "proud moment" for the company, but declined to reveal its sales forecasts.

A major boost for Adidas

In addition to sponsoring national teams, Nike launched two new versions of its Mercurial football boots before the World Cup, partnered with local streetwear designers, and updated the football sections in more than 5,000 of its own stores or those of its wholesale partners around the world.

The company said its World Cup campaign, "Rip the Script," which centered around a promotional film featuring football stars and other celebrities, including French striker Kylian Mbappe and reality TV star Kim Kardashian, garnered 1.5 billion views during the first week of the tournament.

Sales of national team kits have 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 Derek McFarlane, a research analyst at mScience, believes that "Adidas is the clear winner" in the footwear and sportswear market.

He explained that the company's strong performance in the United States and Europe helped it gain additional market share from Nike during the second quarter of the year. He added that demand related to the World Cup contributed to boosting Adidas' results, but its improved performance transcends the tournament's impact, while Nike continues to face pressure in the European market.

According to mScience data, Adidas' share of the footwear market rose to 19.2 percent in June, compared with 16 percent a year earlier, while Nike continued to lose market share.

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