Tickled pink? Why brightly colored boots dominate this year's World Cup.

GUADALAJARA — Think pink. That seems to be the unofficial dress code for the FIFA 2026 World Cup, where players like Son Heung-min are turning heads with brightly colored boots on football's biggest stage.

In fact, at the Korean men's national team's training ground in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Monday, most players could be seen wearing pink footwear as they moved through drills.

Lee Kang-in wore Adidas' F50 Hyperfast, Oh Hyeon-gyu sported Nike's Mercurial Vapor 17 and Jens Castrop trained in Puma's Future 9. Despite being made by different brands, all three pairs shared the same pink color motif.

Team captain Son also wears pink Adidas F50 Hyperfast Elite Laceless boots on match days. Even manager Hong Myung-bo alternates between pink and white footwear.

It seems players around the world got the same fashion memo. So why the pink wave?

The main reason is visibility.

Pink stands in sharp contrast to the green pitch, making the boots instantly noticeable not only from the stands but also on television and smartphone screens.

“Our intent was really to make sure that the boot stood out against the kit,” said Odinga Nimako, a senior figure at Nike’s global football footwear team, in an article by The Athletic on Saturday.

Nike also took the absence of pink kits in this World Cup under consideration, according to the article.

The pink craze is also the result of broader fashion trends.

Football boots typically take one to two years to move from development to market. Two years ago, global trend forecasting company WGSN identified "Electric Fuchsia," a vivid neon shade that sits between pink and purple, as a key color trend.

In addition, players competing in football's biggest stage often gravitate toward bold colors that help boost confidence, especially the younger generation of players, which does not hesitate to wear bold colors.

Ironically, the dominance of pink has made players who go against the trend stand out even more.

Hwang In-beom, who scored one goal and provided one assist in Korea's 2-1 win over the Czech Republic on Thursday, drew attention from football fans for wearing white Mizuno boots.

Lionel Messi wears boots featuring the light blue and white colors of the Argentine flag accented with gold. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo has opted for gold Nike boots commemorating his sixth World Cup appearance.

The long-held belief that football boots should be black began to fade during the 1998 World Cup in France, when Brazilian striker Ronaldo famously wore Nike's silver Mercurial boots.

Since then, World Cup pitches have become increasingly colorful. Now, as trends have come full circle, pink boots have taken over the tournament.

Stuck at work or school when Korea kicks off? We've got you covered. The Korea JoongAng Daily is live-blogging every Korea match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, around the clock. Don't miss a moment.  

BY PARK LIN [[email protected]]