Nike debuts revolutionary technology with the Air Zoom Mercurial

The right football shoe delivers the traction and support you need while navigating the pitch. The Nike Air Zoom Mercurial does that and more.

The Nike Air Zoom Mercurial features special technology to create additional support and foot flexibility, even at high speeds. This shoe has a responsive three-quarter length Zoom airbag that sits directly inside the plate to bring your foot closer to the ground. That pressured air system is designed to absorb impact and promote fast movement—and the result is an energy return that feels propulsive.

The airbag also boasts specialised grooves for flexibility as you work the pitch, responding to the natural movement of your foot.

"Being a Mercurial athlete, I'm always thinking about fast. I want to be faster than my opponent", says French national team star Kylian Mbappé, who wears the Nike Air Zoom Mercurial. "What excited me most is that this technology is revolutionary. Air is what's really going to put the Mercurial athletes in the best conditions to perform."

The shoe's upper showcases the next generation of Vaporposite, called Vaporposite+. This upper boasts a grippy chevron mesh in a customised fit designed to help with ball control. It's also crafted from adaptable yarns to create a light feel that won't weigh you down.

Testing in the Nike Sports Research Lab created a lockdown map that showed all areas of the foot that need to be supported—and that inspired a speed cage with specific zones for the Air Zoom Mercurial. The upper offers a snug "locked-down fit" for a secure feel, even while sprinting and cutting at high speeds, says Collin Eder, senior director of Global Football Footwear at Nike.

The Air Zoom Mercurial also features a lining of Flyknit—a comfortable fabric that fits like a sock—to help keep your feet cool and dry. The high-top collar is designed to provide additional coverage and flexibility around the ankle.

As with all Nike Mercurial boots, the Air Zoom Mercurial features a Nike Aerotrak plate in the footplate with special grooving for lightweight but firm traction. The Air Zoom Mercurial has a new feature on the bottom in the form of a tri-star stud pattern. This stud pattern is designed to help footballers easily shift side to side and propel forwards for efficient bursts of speed and direction change.

Because you don't want to blend in on the pitch, the Nike Air Zoom Mercurial comes in a bold design, featuring a red patterned Air logo on the outside and metallic sole with shades of red, purple and orange that's hard to miss as you sail past the competition.

As part of Nike's 2025 Impact targets, which include donating, refurbishing or recycling 10 times more used or defective products, the majority of the Mercurial line is made with at least 20% recycled content by weight.

The Air Zoom Mercurial comes in a variety of colourways. It is available across Nike.com and Nike retail in adult and kids' sizes. Snap up your own pair of this revolutionary football shoe here.