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Wayne Rooney swaps the pitch for the stage in Nike and Palace’s latest England World Cup campaign, directed by Stink's rising filmmaking duo Burnermunde.

Part social realism, part fever dream, the Nike x World Cup film reframes English identity through the theatricality of Shakespeare. With Wayne Rooney delivering a powerful and emotional monologue in close-up, he channels his inner thespian as he speaks about the glory and anticipation of scoring big. He likens the feeling of winning to entering another realm, and evokes the otherworldly thrill of the moment.

Beside Wayne, Jill Scott appears as a celestial figure tied to the mythology of Stonehenge and the origins of football, before striking a winning goal.

“At its core, we wanted to reimagine what England means,” said Burnermunde. “Not in a grand, patriotic way. More like: this is what it is. England isn’t one thing. It’s always changing.”

Produced by Stink Films alongside Stuart Hammond for concept and creative, and Nike and Palace’s in-house teams, with VFX by Finn Dove and Rascal, the campaign marks Burnermunde’s first commercial project with Stink and builds on a growing body of work exploring the textures and contradictions of modern British life.