About as contentious a subject as the greatest World Cup teams of all time, there are a lot of iconic WC kits, but only a handful can be crowned the best. With Qatar on the horizon and Football Fever (sort of) lurching into gear, we’ve tried our best to break down the 15 finest kits to ever grace a FIFA-certified World Cup pitch.
Which Argentina shirt? Is Cameroon the greatest kit nation of all time? The 90s! How about that Nigeria shirt? You know the score. Read on.
A steadfast rule of all World Cups is that there absolutely must be at least one Good Vibes team. Someone who qualified against the odds, doesn’t expect to win it, and is happy to be along for the ride. In 2006 that was Trinidad & Tobago, who nearly upended the narrative by pushing England to the limit, all while wearing a very good red Adidas kit. A collector’s item in the world of fun underdog football shirts. Also, remember Kenwyne Jones. My word he had a leap on him, didn’t he?
The last time Wales qualified for a World Cup, before Qatar, was back in 1958. They had a decent run, eventually lost to a 17-year-old Pele and Brazil in the quarter-finals; there was a player called Ivor Allchurch and the kit was superb. A mega Welsh dragon breathing fire and a plunging V neck deeper than the valleys of South Wales. A real beauty.
That Colombia team was a lot of fun. Every World Cup has that mercurial dark horse that neutrals get behind. In 2014 it was Colombia, led by a young James Rodriguez who hit perhaps the cleanest volley in the history of clean volleys. Yellow, blue and red, some stripey action across the front and a joyful team wearing it. Great kit.
While they didn’t make it out of the group stage in Argentina, Iran got spanked while looking good, which is fundamentally all that matters. A clean white shirt with red trim that displayed IRAN on the front. Let them know where you’re from, put a tackle in! IRAN. There’s also a brilliant warm-up tracksuit top in white and green. What does it show on the front? IRAN. The number on the back were pretty tasty, too.
The shoulder swoosh and circle around the numbers era was a good one for Nike football kits (other good examples of the time: Portugal and the Netherlands). Managed by Gus Hiddink, with Viduka, Kewell and Cahill trying to head absolutely everything while also throwing elbows with carefree abandon, the mighty Socceroos pushed Italy to the limit and looked good doing it in green and gold. Sort of like an off-brand Brazil, with scarier strikers.
Long before Luis Suarez got hungry for the sweet, sweet taste of Giorgio Chiellini’s left shoulder, Uruguay were known as the original superpower of world football. A tiny nation with unmatched pedigree, the 1950 World Cup-winning squad dominated in a lovely shade of sky blue. No logo, no flag and a big fat V-neck, not to mention the legendary Alcides Ghiggia leading the line.
Everyone wants Japan to do well in a World Cup, that’s just the way it is. Their 2022 kit looks like another winner, but 2018 was the best. Inspired by traditional samurai armour (if you say so Adidas), the dark blue with subtle stripes was oh-so-pleasing. There’s also something about a kit with two flags on it! If only they did the business against Belgium.
There was no messing around with the great ’66 Soviet Union team. Show up, kick it about, lose in the semi-final to West Germany; wear a beautiful, bright red shirt with CCCP plastered on the front. No logo, no nonsense. Head back to Moscow, suited and booted. Glory to the motherland. Job done.
Oh, Italia 90. Gazza, Bobby, Chris Waddle's mullet, Gary… Gazza! Sunshine and quiet hope and then floods of tears as an inch of West German goal post denies a dream. Oh dear, I’m sad again now. How about that shirt, though.
Another nation blessed with Too Many Good Football Shirts, the Ronaldo 2002 edition is etched in modern memory, but Brazil’s '82 shirt is the definitive retro football aesthetic. Zico and Socrates and big hair, tiny shorts, no logos and smoking in the changing rooms. Destined for greatness, only to fall short. What could have been? It’s what it’s all about.
There aren’t many nations that, more than once, have had kits banned by FIFA (remember that skintight all-in-one?) The team officially known as the Indomitable Lions, Cameroon’s 2002 kit featured a sleeveless Puma shirt that looked incredible on Samuel Eto’o and Rigobert Song. Less so on that guy at 5 a side who’s really, really into classic football kits.
I wanted to include France’s 1994 kit here, but did you know that they didn’t even qualify!? Something about David Ginola messing up and putting in a cross when he should have wasted time against Bulgaria. Anyway, fortunately for us, Les Bleus have no shortage of iconic kits, with ’98 being the pick of the bunch. Zizou, Lizarazu, Djorkaeff and a very young Thierry Henry with a little moustache. The baggy sleeves, collar and central logo. The ‘90s really was the pinnacle of a lot of things, including good football shirts.
Cast your mind back to the summer of ’18. Russia was hosting, England were hopeful, the beer gardens were full and everyone lost their mind over the Nigeria shirt. At the apex of streetwear fever, the queue outside Nike Town rivalled the Queen’s funeral and three million pre-orders were made. That zig-zag design, the shade of green, Alex Iwobi wearing it. It just worked.
Played against the dark backdrop of a military junta and near societal collapse, Argentina prevailed in their own World Cup, holding their nerve and bolstering a nation. The shirt was nice, too! Long-sleeved Adidas with the original trefoil logo. Also, a mock neck with a slight V in it? Not something you see at every World Cup.
Okay, let’s wrap it up, this is the best one. Well done Croatia, I hope you’re very happy. Look at me with my perfect checkerboard Lotto shirt with just the right sleeve length and collar design. It’s cheating, being allowed to have a cool checkerboard pattern on a shirt. Even the keeper's kit is on point. FIFA needs to step in immediately.
