With a high instep you need a boot with proper laces, a separate tongue and a tall toe box. Width on its own will not fix it. The Nike Phantom 6, the laced adidas Copa Pure IV and the Puma King Platinum handle it best, while laceless boots and low, tightly cut models are best avoided.
Selected with the same logic as the boot advisor, from the boots we rated.
Calfskin leather that gives, a deep lacing system and a separate tongue that opens far. This makes it strong for a high instep.
The widest Nike last, with extra height in the toe box and a roomy heel. The knit upper stretches.
Calfskin leather and a separate tongue on a wide last: the laces open far and the leather gives.
Leather model with a roomy forefoot and a closed heel that stretches a little.
Classic wide last made of thick kangaroo leather that gives after break-in.
Football boots for a high instep need volume more than anything: room over the top of the foot, a tongue that sits loose and laces that open wide. Width alone will not solve it. A boot can be wide enough and still pinch at the highest point of your foot. Below we cover how to spot a high instep, which constructions work, which models do and do not, and how to lace for extra room. The list at the top of this page ranks the boots we would look at first.
You spot a high instep by how your foot feels in the boot, not by a measurement. The usual signs are a pressure point on top of the foot, laces you cannot pull tight without pain, tingling toes and feet that tire quickly. Some players find a red stripe across the top of the foot after a match, exactly where the laces ran.
Do not mistake it for a wide foot. A wide foot pushes against the sides, at the little toe and the ball of the foot. A high instep pushes from above. Plenty of players have both, and then you need a boot that is wide and tall.
A quick check at home:
When you measure your foot (our guide on how to measure your foot width explains how), do it standing up, in your football socks and preferably in the evening, and go by the bigger foot. There is no standard home measurement for instep height, which is why the symptom check tells you more than a tape measure. If you play with an orthotic or a custom insole, also read which football boots leave room for orthotics.
How the boot is built decides whether your instep gets room. Five things matter.
A loose (floating) tongue with a deep lace throat is the most adjustable construction. The tongue moves independently of the upper, so you can spread the pressure across your instep. A knitted tongue, made in one piece with the upper, gives you less adjustment but can still stretch. Laceless boots are the worst option: there is nothing to adjust and most laceless models have little volume over the instep. Our page on laceless football boots for wide feet explains why in more detail.
A high instep often comes with tall or long toes. A low, pointed toe box will then pinch at the front even when the instep is fine. The Nike Tiempo Maestro, the Mizuno Morelia and the New Balance Tekela v5 all have that low toe box, so they rank lower than their width alone would suggest.
Leather stretches, synthetic barely does. Kangaroo leather and calfskin give over the instep once broken in. A tight synthetic boot usually stays tight. Knit uppers wrap around the foot and stretch under load, but they spring back, so they give you less lasting room than leather.
A boot that is roomy over the instep but too wide at the heel will let your heel slip, so check the heel counter too. The soleplate mainly decides whether you can use the boot on your surface and has less effect on fit.
The cheaper versions (Pro, League, Club, Academy) usually share the last of the top-tier boot but have a thicker upper that gives less. On some lines the tongue changes as well: loose on the cheaper version, knitted or laceless on the top one. That tongue construction matters more than the last itself. Judge each version on its own, not just the name of the line.
Our verdicts are based on manufacturer information, fit notes from retailers and the experience of players. We do not run lab tests. The order of the list at the top of the page follows our scores, so here we focus on the reasons behind them.
The Nike Tiempo Maestro Elite sits somewhere in between: wide through the midfoot and heel, but with a low toe box and TechLeather that does not stretch. If the toe box suits your toes it can work; if not, it will not.
With wide feet and a high instep, you need volume in every direction. The Phantom 6 and the laced Copa Pure IV score highest here. The Phantom has the most room in the forefoot, over the instep and at the heel, while the Copa Pure offers the most adjustment thanks to its tongue and leather. Our main page on the best football boots for wide feet sets these boots against the rest.
Do not go up a size by default to get more room. A bigger boot mostly gives you extra length, which means heel slip and less feel for the ball. Choose a model with more volume, a leather upper or a separate tongue instead.
The exception is a synthetic boot that is only just too tight: there, half a size up can work, though a different model is the better answer. The boot finder weighs up your problem and gives you a top three.
The right lacing eases pressure on the instep without letting your heel slip. The lace throat on a football boot is short, so the effect is smaller than on a walking boot. It works best on boots with a separate tongue. If you are looking at a boot with a sock collar, read about football boots with a sock for wide feet first. Our full guide on how to lace football boots takes you through each pattern step by step.
As a rule of thumb, you should still be able to fit a finger between the tongue and the laces. Do not yank the laces tight to hold a roomy boot in place: the eyelets tear and you create new pressure points. If a boot keeps squeezing, see our page on what to do when football boots feel too tight.
Stick to your normal size and find the volume in the model. Each brand fits differently, and that decides whether half a size up or down makes sense.
The size converter helps you compare UK, EU and US sizes. If the pain lasts more than a few weeks or keeps coming back, get your feet checked by a podiatrist or your GP. The same goes if you keep getting pressure points or red marks. A boot can absorb a lot, but it cannot fix a medical cause.
In children you spot a high instep by the symptoms too: a child who keeps pulling the boot off, leaves the laces loose or says it hurts on top. Kids rarely complain without being asked. The Phantom consistently comes up wider in junior sizes, which helps with a high instep. For sizing, growing room and wide kids’ feet, see our page on football boots for kids with wide feet.
The soleplate has nothing to do with your instep, but you cannot get every model for every surface. For a 3G or 4G pitch, look for an AG, MG or TF version. Not every Elite colourway comes in AG, and junior versions of the cheaper tiers often come only as MG, TF or indoor. In a wet British winter, soft ground (SG) studs for grass pitches are worth considering as well.
Filter by surface when you shop, not just by model. An FG soleplate is made for natural grass. Our guide to which soleplate to choose explains FG, SG, AG, TF and indoor in plain English.
Look for a boot with proper laces, a separate tongue and a tall toe box. The Nike Phantom 6, the laced adidas Copa Pure IV and the Puma King Platinum all score well here. Laceless boots and low, tightly cut models do not work.
No. A wide foot presses against the sides, a high instep presses against the top. Plenty of players have both, and then you need a boot with volume in the forefoot and over the instep.
We would steer clear. You cannot adjust a laceless boot, and most laceless models have very little volume over the instep. Go for a laced version with a separate tongue instead.
Usually not. A bigger boot mainly adds length, which brings heel slip and a poorer touch on the ball. Pick a boot with more volume, a leather upper or a separate tongue. Only with a synthetic boot that is just slightly too tight can half a size up help, and even then a different model is the better fix.
Use window lacing: lace as normal up to just below the pressure point, skip the cross, then carry on crossing above it. Parallel (bar) lacing also eases the pressure. You should still be able to slide a finger between the tongue and the laces.
You feel pressure on top of the foot, cannot lace up without it hurting, or see a red line across the top of your foot after a match. There is no standard way to measure instep height at home, so these symptoms are the best guide.
The Phantom 6 is the best choice: a tall toe box, a knitted tongue that gives and next to no break-in. The Mercurial is too narrow. The Tiempo Maestro only works if you get on with a low toe box.
Try a different lacing pattern and a boot with more volume first. If the pain lasts more than a few weeks or keeps coming back, see a podiatrist or your GP.