By David Owen

Nike, who supply World Cup hosts Brazil's kits, are neck and neck with Adidas in the Battle of the Brands ©Getty ImagesIt is neck and neck in the Battle of the Brands as the FIFA World Cup takes a pause before moving on to the quarter-final matches.

Sportswear giants Nike and Adidas each supply the kit for three of the eight Brazil 2014 survivors.

Puma, however, has faded from the picture, after none of its eight teams progressed beyond the last 16 stage.

The first two quarter-finals on Friday (July 5) will now be classic Adidas versus Nike confrontations, with France (Nike) taking on Adidas (Germany) in Rio de Janeiro, before hosts Brazil (Nike) play the dangerous Colombians (Adidas) in Fortaleza.

Saturday's games will see each of the Big Boys come up in turn against comparative kit-making minnows, with Lionel Messi's Argentina (Adidas), who required extra time to get the better of Switzerland, the last surviving Puma team, in the round of 16, facing Belgium (Burrda Sport) in Brasilia, and then Arjen Robben's Holland (Nike) taking on Costa Rica (Lotto) in Salvador.

Lionel Messi's Argentina, whose kits are supplied by Adidas, face Burrda Sport-supplied Belgium in the quarter-finals ©Globo via Getty ImagesLionel Messi's Argentina, whose kits are supplied by Adidas, face Burrda Sport-supplied Belgium in the quarter-finals ©Globo via Getty Images



Nike teams have scored the most goals in the tournament, now leading their Adidas counterparts by 56 to 47 (discounting penalty shootouts), with Puma's final tally standing at 35 and other brands so far accounting for a combined total of 16.

As for the confederations, four European or UEFA teams are still standing, against three from South America (CONMEBOL).

Central and North America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) also still has a representative in contention for football's biggest prize, with Costa Rica outlasting Mexico and the United States, the region's two relative giants.

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