Jude Bellingham, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alessia Russo have all fed into the design of the latest edition of Adidas' iconic Predator boot.
Meanwhile, the legacies of Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham – who helped make the boot famous in the 1990s and 2000s – have formed a key part of the "DNA" of the newest design, according to Adidas' category director for football footwear, Mahsa Aryan.
Bellingham has been wearing Predators during his incredible rise to superstardom at Real Madrid, while Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold joined Adidas' stable of athletes late last year.
Both of the England internationals have had their say in the design of the Predator 24, while England and Arsenal women star Russo has also given her feedback in what Aryan described as a "super close" working relationship.
Aryan told Stats Perform: "Over the years, I think where we have been able to succeed has been staying super close to our professional players.
"They obviously have a different level of understanding of how the game is evolving and obviously what their needs are as a result of that evolution and so we stay very closely connected to our clubs, to our key players and make sure we're having a constant conversation of what's working or what's not working.
"What's been really fun about the Predator 24 is we've had a lot of conversations throughout the creation, right from basically inception, all the way to the final sign-off that we had on the boots.
"We've had constant conversations with Jude, with the likes of Russo as well, so also the women's game [is] definitely just as important, and with Trent, obviously, he is a new key face who we're super excited to have and super excited that he wants to be such a key part of our launch of Predator."
However, Aryan stressed how keen Adidas were to remain connected to the past, with Zidane in particular playing a key role.
"But we've also maintained and stayed connected to our previous icons," she added: "So I had the pleasure of sitting down and really discussing the Predator 24, and future, with Zidane, for example, and getting a lot of his thoughts, not just from the perspective of an iconic player of the past, but what he sees in the game now.
"When you think back into the late 90s, into the early 2000s, there were a lot of, let's call it disruptive players for football footwear, and you could see that was really the evolution of the old style of football, going into the new style.
"It was like the last generation of when football was all about power and all about the specific set pieces and now it's become so much more dynamic. I think those personalities are heavily driven into what the Predator has been, but also the DNA of it, definitely coming from the Zidanes and Beckhams of the world."
The Predators have certainly helped Bellingham thrive at Madrid this campaign. The midfielder has already scored a remarkable 17 goals in just 24 games across all competitions, while adding a further six assists. Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, has set up eight goals for Liverpool with his quality deliveries.
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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