Nigeria not being able to do the business against Ghana in the qualifiers means the World Cup 2022 is denied what is objectively the best kit in world football. But, Super Eagles or not, there will still be plenty of standout shirts present in Qatar this November.
Taking into account numerous important design (and some technical fabric) factors, such as ‘does this shirt have a cool flame and/or a mighty deity on it’, we’ve created a list of the top 10 best shirts set to appear at the World Cup next month, with a couple of surprising omissions.*
*Look, it’s not our fault they, somehow, messed up Senegal’s kit this year. And Brazil's just wasn't our kettle of fish, soz about it.
The pick of Puma’s offering for Qatar ’22, yes, the henley… the henley, but that clean, celestial blue, minimal branding and a bit of a sheen means that Luis Suarez is going to look a million dollars as he chows down on a defender’s rotator cuff in the round of 16. If not that, then Darwin Nunez will look baller when he bangs in his first WCG (World Cup Goal, obvs).
A slightly more yellow shade than we might be used to from a team whose favourite colour is their very nickname, the new Nike Netherlands kit has a vibrant, slightly psychedelic and patinated finish, in a good way. Crunch match against Ecuador at 4PM, Grateful Dead concert at 10PM.
Lionel Messi’s last dance has a suitably clean and classic home shirt. White and blue, three stripes, job done. It's the away shirt that is the more attention-grabbing prospect. Yeah, OK, it does look a bit like a child whose brain has been ravaged by FIFA Ultimate Team and Fortnite's fever dream… but purple flames? Maybe those kids have a point.
While the inclusion of a dreaded henley collar is sub-optimal at best, even a bit of unnecessary design meddling can’t derail the simple red, white and blue (and gold) beauty of a perennial World Cup kit juggernaut. Will France be the best team in the tournament, or a disjointed collective of training ground coupists? Only time will tell. What I can tell you is they’ll look good whatever the state of l’équipe.
A potential dark horse squad for the World Cup 2022 led by Son Heung-min (who is still killing it with his country despite his slightly iffy start to the season for Spurs), this is a certified Great Shirt. A fiery hue of red with a tiger stripe on the sleeve, a bold badge featuring a scary animal, and a strong contrasting V-neck collar.
Breaking up the Nike and Adidas international kit duopoly, Tunisia might have a shout as the most underrated shirt to appear in the whole thing. Skin-tight Kappa, with a hard-looking eagle emblem and a subtly underlaid graphic that is inspired by the nation’s olive oil industry. What’s not to love?
With a home shirt that is about as exciting as 90 minutes against San Marino in Wolverhampton, the brave, brave lions are redeemed by a proper away shirt. Deep red, big badge, and a real '90s collar! If you can’t see Ivan Toney rising like a mighty salmon to power a winner past Hugo Lloris in the final, then there’s no helping you.
Down to the business end now. Part of an elite cabal of ‘can’t ever seem to get it wrong’ World Cup shirt heavyweights, along with Croatia, Mexico and Nigeria (RIP), the jagged geometric design for Japan’s 2022 shirt is taken from an origami crow; a good luck symbol and something that also handily doubles as a great bit of footy shirt design. Ours is a medium, thanks.
Is it possible for Mexico to have a bad shirt? Apparently not! Another vibrant green Adidas banger featuring a red trim, a cleaned-up badge and an abstract patterned display of the feathered headdress worn by the Aztec deity, Quetzalcoatl, the god of the sun and wind, air, learning… and Chicharito scoring at least one scuffed toe poke in the group stages and celebrating like there's no tomorrow.
While not quite a full-on boycott, all three of Denmark’s shirts have been designed – according to manufacturer Hummel – as an act of protest against the host nation’s patchy human rights record. The all-black third shirt that's the “colour of mourning” may not have the political power to influence the might of a Gulf state, but that black on black on black… on black is good, isn’t it? With the excess amount of white and red strips, we're also banking on this one getting a decent run out.
