Football Boots for Narrow Feet and a Narrow Heel

Football boots for narrow feet are found among the speed models: the Nike Mercurial, adidas F50 and Puma Ultra all have a slim last, low volume over the instep and a heel that holds your foot in place. If your foot or heel is narrow, the boot that gets recommended for wide feet is the wrong one: it is too roomy and your foot slides around inside it. This page explains how to recognise that, which models fit narrow, which ones are too generous and how to secure a boot that is a touch too big. The list at the top of the page shows our picks for narrow feet.

How can you tell a football boot is too roomy for your narrow foot?

A boot that is too roomy shows itself through movement. Your foot slides forward or sideways when you brake and turn, your heel lifts with every stride, and the laces are pulled all the way in yet the boot still feels loose. Plenty of players end up with blisters on the heel or the Achilles tendon, and they lose control of the ball.

You can check this at home:

• Put the boot on with your match socks and tie the laces firmly, but not as hard as you can.
• Rise onto your toes, then rock back onto your heels. If your heel lifts with you, the heel counter is too roomy.
• Slide your foot forward against the front of the boot. If there is a lot of space behind your heel, the boot is too long or too wide.
• Look at the lace gap. If the two sides of the lacing almost touch, the boot is too big for you, even if the forefoot feels fine.

A narrow foot is not the same as a narrow heel. You can have a normal forefoot with a narrow heel, or the other way round. If you are not sure which applies, ask yourself where the boot feels loose: at the heel, through the midfoot or at the side of the forefoot. Measuring both feet properly also helps, so read how to measure your foot width first.

What should you look for in football boots for narrow feet?

Four things matter for a narrow foot.

A slim last and low volume

The last is the shape the boot is built around. Manufacturers build speed models on a slim, close-fitting last with a low toe box, so the boot sits tight against the foot. How much room you get differs from model to model, and the notes below show you where each one stands.

Heel counter and heel lock

The heel decides whether your foot stays put. Look for a firm, deep heel counter that does not squeeze your Achilles tendon. Models with a smooth synthetic heel hold less, as with the Puma King Match. An external heel counter, as on the Predator, gives some grip, but a narrow heel can still come loose early in that boot.

Upper material

Thin speed synthetics and knit hardly stretch, so they stay close to the foot. That is what you want with a narrow foot. Soft leather boots give with wear, which means they end up roomier than they felt in the shop. If you want a light speed boot from Mizuno, look at the Mizuno Alpha III.

Lacing

You need to be able to lock the boot down. A laced boot with a firm tongue gives you more control than a laceless boot, which can sit loose through the midfoot on a narrow foot.

Which football boots fit narrow feet?

Our verdicts come from manufacturer information, fit notes from retailers and the experiences of players. The reason for each verdict is given with the model.

• Nike Mercurial Vapor: the narrowest Nike last, with low volume and a low, pointed toe box. It is a speed boot made for narrow feet. Nike suggests half a size up if you want a looser fit, which a narrow foot rarely needs.
• Nike Mercurial Superfly: slightly roomier than the previous generation, but the collar is stiff and does not give. It follows your regular size, because the upper does not stretch.
• adidas F50 Hyperfast: a narrow last with a tapered midfoot and low instep volume. It fits true to size. The laceless Elite gives you even less to adjust.
• Puma Ultra: the tightest Puma, pointed and slim, with a firm heel that can pinch under the Achilles tendon. The Ultimate runs a bit long, so consider half a size down, while the Carbon version runs slightly short.
• Mizuno Morelia Neo V Beta: a knit midfoot that wraps tightly, and a heel that holds well. It runs about a quarter of a size long, so stay with your normal size.
• Under Armour Shadow: snug and narrow, and a touch long. It is meant for narrow, long feet.
• New Balance Furon v9: the widest of the speed boots in this group, but still built on a narrow last. It fits tight, so many players go up half a size, and the heel is a strong point.

If you want a speed boot with a bit less severity, the Mizuno Alpha III has a knit upper with a tapered midfoot and an average width. If you sit between two sizes, take the smaller one for a match fit.

Narrow football boots in leather

A narrow foot can wear leather too. Look at the adidas Copa Icon 2, which has a roomy forefoot but a closed heel and fits true to size, and the Nike Tiempo Ligera, where the separate tongue and deep lacing let you adjust the boot to either a wide or a narrow foot.

Pro or Elite for a narrow foot?

Lower-tier versions mostly share the last of the top boot but have a thicker upper. On the F50 Hyperfast, the Pro is marginally roomier through the midfoot than the Elite. On the Furon v9, the Pro loses very little of the construction.

For a narrow foot a Pro is therefore usually a good choice. Watch the heel, though: on some Pro versions the heel is shallower, and a narrow heel notices that straight away.

Which football boots are too roomy for narrow feet?

These models are made for wider feet and give a narrow foot too much space:

• Puma King: wide through the heel, midfoot, forefoot and soleplate. On a narrow foot it is too roomy. You will need an extra eyelet and grip socks to hold it in place.
• Nike Phantom: the widest Nike last, with a particularly roomy heel, so narrow heels slip.
• Skechers SKX_2 and Skechers Razor 2: a round, wide toe box and a slightly wider heel.
• adidas Copa Mundial: a classic wide last in thick kangaroo leather that runs longer than the size suggests.
• New Balance 442 v3: a roomy heel and a low toe box.

How do you prevent heel slip with narrow feet?

Heel slip is best solved with lacing and socks, not with a smaller boot.

• Heel lock (also called a runner’s loop): at the top two eyelets, pass each lace end through the top eyelet on the same side so that a loop forms. Cross the ends through the loop on the opposite side, pull down and tie. This clamps the boot around your heel.
• Surgeon’s knot: a double wrap on the eyelet where you want to hold the tension, for example tight at the heel and loose over the instep.
• Wider laces: together with technical socks they mean you do not have to pull so hard, which saves the eyelets.
• Grip socks: a thicker grip sock makes up for roughly half a size of extra space. A sock that is too thick squeezes the forefoot when your feet swell in the second half.

A few things do not work. Do not pull the laces as hard as you can to hold a roomy boot, because the eyelets will tear. Do not stuff tissue or paper into the toe either, since it shifts around. Grip socks help in a roomy model, but they cannot repair the wrong shape.

If the boot slips mostly on grass in the wet, remember that a soft ground boot with long studs also moves your foot around more. A heel that holds on a dry 3G pitch can still slip on a sodden Sunday league pitch, so test lacing tricks in the conditions you play in.

Which size should you take in narrow football boots?

Start from your normal size and do not automatically go smaller. For a narrow foot that wants a close fit, the rules differ per brand:

• Mercurial: Nike suggests half a size up for a looser fit. For a narrow foot, stay with your normal size.
• F50: fits true to size. If you want more toe room, half a size up is not a good fix, because it only adds length.
• Ultra: the Ultimate runs long (half a size down), while the Carbon version runs slightly short.
• Mizuno Morelia Neo V Beta: runs about a quarter size long, so keep to your normal size.

A boot that does not fit is not improved by going a size down. You get a tighter feel, but also pinched toes. The football boot size converter helps with the numbers, and the boot adviser lets you pick a boot based on your complaint.

Narrow football boots for kids and women

Kids with a narrow foot can look at the junior versions of the speed ranges. The Mercurial junior is the narrowest Nike, while the Phantom in junior sizes fits wider throughout. Children grow fast, so allow 8 to 12 millimetres of growing room and measure regularly. To see the Nike ranges side by side, read Mercurial, Phantom or Tiempo: fit compared.

For women with narrow feet there is an F50 edition made specifically for narrower feet and for women, the Sparkfusion. The sizing approach is the same: measure your foot, choose a slim model and lock it down with the laces. The Under Armour Shadow is also an option for a narrow foot.

If you want to compare the Puma ranges before choosing, read Puma King, Future or Ultra: which fits wider.

When to see a specialist

Fit advice only goes so far. If you have pain that does not settle, repeated blisters or a heel that gets sore even in a boot that seems to fit, speak to a GP or a podiatrist. They can look at the foot itself, which a guide like this cannot do.