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The 2026 World Cup is about to kick-off, and that means we are about to bear witness to the greatest array of international football shirts ever seen.
For the first time, 48 nations will take part in the men’s tournament, so we have reviewed every home and away shirt to make a 96-strong list of sartorial delights and disappointments in North America this summer.
It has been another strong showing from Adidas and Puma, while the good people at Jako deliver a surprise entrant into our top 10.
Why are Ghana wearing a spider web? What is that on Haiti’s hip? Why have Croatia made us angry? And which kit has won our highly coveted top spot? Please do tell us where we’ve gone badly wrong in the comments below.
So, from worst to best, from the visually upsetting to the optically arousing, here are our World Cup 2026 kit rankings.
96. South Korea home: We have to start somewhere, and we’re starting with this ugly pattern. Are they hills, volcanoes, clouds? Over to Nike, who explain: “The head-to-toe camo print embodies an ambush of tigers striking together at any moment.” No it doesn’t.
96. South Korea home (Nike)
95. Switzerland away: It’s like a toddler wielding a highlighter pen got hold of the designs of an otherwise acceptable shirt. This is fine for goalkeepers, but otherwise, no thanks. Although as always with Switzerland, the crest is a big plus.
95. Switzerland away (Puma)
94. Australia away: A very bold fade from pink to green, and we’re not having it.
94. Australia away (Nike)
93. Argentina away: Garish, in a bad way.
93. Argentina away (Adidas)
92. Paraguay home: Torn over whether this is a child’s crayon drawing or just a great shirt, and after much deliberation we’ve come down on the side of nursery artwork. Which, as we all know, goes straight in the bin.
92. Paraguay home (Puma)
91. Bosnia and Herzegovina home: Welcome to the game, Kelme. And what have we got here? Two bold blue lines over the top of a dragon motif? That’s... that’s not a great start.
91. Bosnia and Herzegovina home (Kelme)
90. Croatia home: This is the only shirt on the list that makes us angry. Croatia is a great kit that doesn’t need reimagining, yet every tournament it gets fiddled! This time, someone at Nike has etch-a-sketched out the middle of a very attractive, near perfect Croatia shirt. And we’re unhappy about it.
90. Croatia home (Nike)
89. Netherlands home: The Dutch shirt should not be hard to get right but the fluorescent edge to this one is too much. The big central crest looks a bit village too.
89. Netherlands home (Nike)
88. Japan home: Probably a bit harsh to place this 88th in a list of 96 shirts. But it’s a bit odd, and it’s here now.
88. Japan home (Adidas)
87. Cape Verde away: A bit bland. Like eating dry toast. These lads flew to the World Cup signing and dancing on the plane. They deserve more.
87. Cape Verde away (Tempo)
86. Ghana home: Sorry, Ghana. We’ve really tried to love this shirt. We’ve tried turning it around, upside down. We’ve squinted at it. We’ve read about the mythical spider in Ghanaian folklore it is meant to invoke. But ultimately, it is a bit of a mess.
(Puma)
85. Uruguay away: Sorry but that’s a USA shirt and we won’t be taking any questions on the matter.
85. Uruguay away (Nike)
84. England away: The central crest gives it a slight Pro-Evo feel, which is not a good thing, and the background is a bit... weird.
84. England away (Nike)
83. DR Congo away: Colour fades generally don’t work but this one is not bad, although it’s less DR Congo and more San Marino. Side point: it’s not dissimilar to the home colour, and being dissimilar really is the raison d’etre of any away shirt.
83. DR Congo away (Umbro)
82. France home: The lighter blue French shirts will always be better, and the zig-zag background is a bit much.
82. France home (Nike)
81. Mexico away: Not colourful enough to feel Mexican – it seems like something Germany should be wearing.
81. Mexico away (Adidas)
80. Netherlands away: A bit better from the Netherlands, this, but not much.
80. Netherlands away (Nike)
79. Norway away: We like simplicity, but is this too simple? “The stripped-down, striking visual honours the country’s viking history and celebrates the squad’s raw, Norse confidence,” claims Nike. Sorry, we’re not having it.
79. Norway away (Nike)
78. Saudi Arabia home: Makes us want to play Tetris.
78. Saudi Arabia home (Adidas)
77. Egypt home: It’s giving a vibe of not actually having the image rights to the pyramids, like when the early versions of Pro Evolution Soccer didn’t own naming rights and players were called things like Ruud van Nistelstrom.
77. Egypt home (Puma)
76. Qatar away: There’s clean and simple, and then there’s just bland.
76. Qatar away (Adidas)
75. Bosnia and Herzegovina away: Kelme are back for more, and this one is less of an assault on the iris, which is something. Or would that be the pupil, technically? Suppose really the retina is doing the heavy lifting, image-wise. Anyway, it’s unremarkable.
75. Bosnia and Herzegovina away (Kelme)
74. Curacao home: A little uninspiring, which is a shame, because as we will discuss later, the away shirt is a beauty.
74. Curacao home (Adidas)
73. Turkey home: Quite a lot to dislike here. The strange pattern, the horizontal block line, the centralised crest. It’s just not working.
73. Turkey home (Nike)
72. Switzerland home: A bit odd but broadly fine. And the crest is a big plus.
72. Switzerland home (Puma)
71. Uzbekistan home: Into the fray step 7Saber, with a similar blocky style to Saudi Arabia. The collar’s quite fun but the rest of it, we can take or leave.
71. Uzbekistan home (7saber)
70. Uzbekistan away: Pretty similar.
70. Uzbekistan away (7saber)
69. Brazil away: Vinicius and company will make this look good, we’ve no doubt, but it does look a bit like someone’s had a spillage.
69. Brazil away (Nike)
68. New Zealand home: It’s a little plain but the subtle fern-inspired background is pleasant enough. And black shirts are almost always cool, so that helps.
68. New Zealand home (Puma)
67. Paraguay away: Psychedelic.
67. Paraguay away (Puma)
66. Scotland home: Classic, solid, no mistakes here. But a bit... safe?
66. Scotland home (Adidas)
65. Australia home: A little plain.
65. Australia home (Nike)
64. Iran home: We would usually question the aesthetic benefit of printing the ghost of a big cat’s face on a football shirt, but given it is there to raise awareness of the plight of the Asiatic cheetah, we approve. The sleeve print is a nice touch, too.
64. Iran home (Majid)
63. Sweden home: A touch boring, maybe, but broadly acceptable.
63. Sweden home (Adidas)
62. Turkey away: A bit better than the home shirt.
62. Turkey away (Nike)
61. Argentina home: It looks great from a distance. But look closely and the faded, blocky stripes are a little ugly.
61. Argentina home (Adidas)
60. Egypt away: We’ve just noticed Puma are putting Pumas on all of their shirt shoulders and we can’t stop noticing it now.
60. Egypt away (Puma)
59. Iran away: Much the same as the home edition, but better.
59. Iran away (Majid)
58. Panama away: Panama’s third shirt is absolutely lovely – Scotland Euro 96 vibes – but we are only allowing home and away kits into these rankings or we’d not have time to see our family, and unfortunately the away shirt is a little underwhelming.
58. Panama away (Reebok)
57. Jordan home: This is a bit better from Kelme, upping their game with a fun shoulder pattern and some subtle striping down the body.
57. Jordan home (Kelme)
56. Jordan away: Much the same but in reverse.
56. Jordan away (Kelme)
55. Tunisia home: Kappa, welcome! This one is absolutely OK.
55. Tunisia home (Kappa)
54. Tunisia away: Likewise. Thanks, Kappa.
54. Tunisia away (Kappa)
53. Canada home: The maple leaf motif is a little gimmicky, but we’re feeling generous.
53. Canada home (Nike)
52. Cape Verde home: Jazzy.
52. Cape Verde home (Tempo)
51. Croatia away: This one works slightly better than the home shirt but we’re still thinking about it.
51. Croatia away (Nike)
50. England home: Sharp trim, fine lines, classic colours. A solid effort.
50. England home (Nike)
49. South Korea away: Korea’s purple flowers are a big room-splitter, and we’ve toyed with putting this shirt at the very bottom of our rankings. But no, it’s daring and original, and Korea already have one shirt down there, so we’re giving this one The Independent’s official stamp of mediocrity.
49. South Korea away (Nike)
48. New Zealand away: That background pattern symbolises “the four winds that bring the country together”, say Puma. We don’t mind it, and we like the white sleeves and collar which gives this kit a clean look. Though if we’re being picky, which we are, the black Puma and white fern are slightly jarring together.
48. New Zealand away (Puma)
47. Algeria away: The red trim elevates this shirt with some smart detail.
47. Algeria away (Adidas)
46. Austria home: Good solid colours, bold blocks, hard lines. Very Austrian.
46. Austria home (Puma)
45. Belgium home: Feels like classic Belgian fare, and we’re happy with it.
45. Belgium home (Adidas)
44. Qatar home: Funky pattern. Don’t mind it.
44. Qatar home (Adidas)
43. Ecuador home: Perfectly nice. We move on.
43. Ecuador home (Marathon)
42. Morocco away: We love the background pattern here. The sleeves just need a little something.
42. Morocco away (Puma)
41. Czechia home: Absolutely fine, middle of the road, a solid football shirt. The button is a nice detail.
41. Czechia home (Puma)
40. Portugal home: Wavy. Uncomplicated.
40. Portugal home (Puma)
39. South Africa home: Yep, smart pattern here, good colours, distinctly South African feel.
39. South Africa home (Adidas)
38. Ivory Coast home: Orange, in a good way.
38. Ivory Coast home (Puma)
37. Czechia away: It’s quite bold to dabble with gold when you’re anyone other than Brazil or Germany, basically – deep World Cup heritage. But fair play to Czechia, who’ve gone for it anyway, lifting what is otherwise a pleasant shirt.
37. Czechia away (Puma)
36. Iraq home: The good people at Jako tend to pull out the odd banger and the away version of this shirt is particularly eye-catching. But we like the design on the home shirt too.
36. Iraq home (Jako)
35. Germany away: The three little diamonds make for a neat pattern and the colours are sharp. It’s a lovely aesthetic.
35. Germany away (Adidas)
34. Spain home: This shirt doesn’t say a lot in isolation, but the sleeves tie in nicely with the shorts and there’s a yellow strip on the shoulders which we also enjoy. Perhaps not one of Spain’s great World Cup shirts but a good effort.
34. Spain home (Adidas)
33. Brazil home: Sometimes a simple, classic design works best, especially for nations with aura embedded in the crest. There are shades of 2002 here in the green trim down the sides and around the neck line.
33. Brazil home (Nike)
32. Colombia home: Inspired by magical realism, says Adidas, whatever that is. But we like this shirt: good solid Colombian colours, a neat background pattern, a pleasant shoulder trim. Well done to all involved.
32. Colombia home (Adidas)
31. Haiti home: OK, nice little collar, bold blue body, a powerful scene depicting silhouettes of Haiti’s independence heroes triumphantly raising the national flag, smart red sleeve trim... Hold on, what?
Now, if basically any other country had done this it would be an abomination, but a quick Google tells us the Haitian Revolution is widely regarded as the only successful large-scale slave revolt in human history, creating the first Black republic in the world, so we say bravo.
31. Haiti home (Saeta)
30. Haiti away: This one is even more pleasing than the home shirt, given the way the flag’s colours stand out.
30. Haiti away (Saeta)
29. Panama home: A nice colour, a nice collar. Nice.
29. Panama home (Reebok)
28. Portugal away: This could be quite Marmite but we’re feeling generous. Like the colour, like the waves, just about like the V.
28. Portugal away (Puma)
27. Saudi Arabia away: Almost all of the Adidas away kits are superb and this is another. It’s quite simple and yet really sharp and clean. We need to again call out the use of gold, which should be reserved for football royalty, but other than that it’s a lovely entrant.
27. Saudi Arabia away (Adidas)
26. Algeria home: Creamy. The pattern is nice and subtle.
26. Algeria home (Adidas)
25. Ghana away: The pattern is based on Accra’s Makola Market, says Puma, and why not. A sunny shade, too. All together a pleasing edition.
25. Ghana away (Puma)
24. Sweden away: We really like the design but the issue here is that it’s not very Swedish. It’s Brazilian, maybe, or Colombian, perhaps. Even so, it’s a lovely thing.
24. Sweden away (Adidas)
23. Ivory Coast away: This was briefly in the ‘terrible’ pile but we reconsidered and decided it is actually so bold and mad that it’s great. It’s in the ‘excellent’ pile and it’s not moving.
23. Ivory Coast away (Puma)
22. Morocco home: Collar of the tournament.
22. Morocco home (Puma)
21. Senegal away: Yeah we like this a lot. Slightly running out of things to say about football shirts at this point if truth be told. If you’re still with us, thanks, great stamina. We’re on the home straight...
21. Senegal away (Puma)
20. South Africa away: Another away belter from Adidas, although – and maybe this is just because we know it’s South Africa – we can’t stop thinking this is a Cricket World Cup shirt from some time in the 2010s. Still, there’s a lot to like here.
20. South Africa away (Adidas)
19. United States away: This is pretty great, with the faint black stars in the background and the thin red trim over the shoulders. Black shirts are almost always cool and this one is a doozy.
19. United States away (Nike)
18. United States home: Setting aside the USA’s obsession with its flag, this is just objectively a great shirt. It is very American, which is important, it’s distinctive, it’s bright and it’s pretty to look at. Much better than some of the bland stuff they’ve worn before. Oh, and we just got it – two shirts, stars and stripes. Very good.
18. United States home (Nike)
17. Canada away: Is it a constellation or a light dust of icing? Either way, this looks great.
17. Canada away (Nike)
16. DR Congo home: Umbro’s sole entrant to the World Cup is DR Congo, and it’s a belter. Is it blue fire? Is it the back of a large frog? We’re not sure.
16. DR Congo home (Umbro)
15. Japan away: We love a pinstripe, as previous World Cup kit rankings will attest, and even though this one looks like it’s been done by a four-year-old with a box of crayons, we approve this effort by Japan.
15. Japan away (Adidas)
14. Norway home: We see what you’ve done here, Norway: you’re wearing a big flag. We like it, and Erling Haaland is going to look majestic in this thing. We’re not sure how far Norway will go in the World Cup but their shirt is a big plus! Cheers, all.
14. Norway home (Nike)
13. Scotland away: What a shade. Salmon, terracotta, coral? Whatever it is, we like it.
13. Scotland away (Adidas)
12. Ecuador away: Now, this we like this from the good people at Marathon. It’s a deep, moody shade of blue with a great collar, and Moises Caicedo will make some authoritative tackles in this thing.
12. Ecuador away (Marathon)
11. Spain away: We really like this. It’s simple but neat and crisp, like a Xavi pass.
11. Spain away (Adidas)
10. Austria away: One of Puma’s best this summer – the watercolour splodges work somehow, and we like the faint gold pattern on top. We called Czechia out for dabbling with gold and it is risky, but Austria have got away with it.
10. Austria away (Puma)
9. Iraq away: Here’s the Iraq away shirt we mentioned earlier, and it’s a cracker.
9. Iraq away (Jako)
8. Uruguay home: A picture of elegance. The sort of shirt you want to wine and dine at a high-end restaurant on a first date. Darwin Nunez is going to look incredibly sharp hitting the post from a variety of ranges wearing this thing.
8. Uruguay home (Nike)
7. Belgium away: Inspired by Belgium’s surrealist movement, says Adidas. Garish, in a great way. It’s perilously close to being awful, but we love it.
7. Belgium away (Adidas)
6. France away: Well this is lovely. The mint green, the subtle tricolour sleeve trim, the understated neckline. Overall it doesn’t feel very French (Portugal, away, maybe?) but it’s a very fine shirt.
6. France away (Nike)
5. Senegal home: This could just be quite a nice T-shirt. But it makes a really great football shirt.
5. Senegal home (Puma)
4. Mexico home: Mexico have topped our kit rankings in years gone by with an Aztec pattern similar to this one, and this summer’s home shirt is a very cool version on the same theme.
4. Mexico home (Adidas)
3. Germany home: We love a throwback and this has nostalgic shades of Italia 90 and USA 94, both elite Germany shirts, while standing on its own as a fine design. Hopefully Germany go far just so this shirt has its own bit of football legacy.
3. Germany home (Adidas)
2. Colombia away: Yes, Colombia! This pattern has a distinct World Cup flavour with notes of summer, samba and South America. If the home shirt is the heart of Colombia, the away kit is a little slice of Caribbean coast. You could wear this to a summer barbecue and be the coolest person there. Though worth noting that if someone else was also wearing the same shirt at said barbecue, you’d both look a bit tragic. We don’t make the rules.
2. Colombia away (Adidas)
1. Curacao away: It’s perfect. The soft yellow tone, the bold blue sleeves, the old-school Adidas logo, the shoulder stripes. Even the collar is exquisite, and the bright colours writing out "Curacao" over the shoulder blades hint at a nation in North America for a good time, not a long time. We have our king.
1. Curacao away (Adidas)
Thanks for reading. Please do tell us where we’ve gone badly wrong in the comments below...
Continue reading...
For the first time, 48 nations will take part in the men’s tournament, so we have reviewed every home and away shirt to make a 96-strong list of sartorial delights and disappointments in North America this summer.
It has been another strong showing from Adidas and Puma, while the good people at Jako deliver a surprise entrant into our top 10.
Why are Ghana wearing a spider web? What is that on Haiti’s hip? Why have Croatia made us angry? And which kit has won our highly coveted top spot? Please do tell us where we’ve gone badly wrong in the comments below.
So, from worst to best, from the visually upsetting to the optically arousing, here are our World Cup 2026 kit rankings.
96. South Korea home: We have to start somewhere, and we’re starting with this ugly pattern. Are they hills, volcanoes, clouds? Over to Nike, who explain: “The head-to-toe camo print embodies an ambush of tigers striking together at any moment.” No it doesn’t.
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96. South Korea home (Nike)
95. Switzerland away: It’s like a toddler wielding a highlighter pen got hold of the designs of an otherwise acceptable shirt. This is fine for goalkeepers, but otherwise, no thanks. Although as always with Switzerland, the crest is a big plus.
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95. Switzerland away (Puma)
94. Australia away: A very bold fade from pink to green, and we’re not having it.
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94. Australia away (Nike)
93. Argentina away: Garish, in a bad way.
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93. Argentina away (Adidas)
92. Paraguay home: Torn over whether this is a child’s crayon drawing or just a great shirt, and after much deliberation we’ve come down on the side of nursery artwork. Which, as we all know, goes straight in the bin.
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92. Paraguay home (Puma)
91. Bosnia and Herzegovina home: Welcome to the game, Kelme. And what have we got here? Two bold blue lines over the top of a dragon motif? That’s... that’s not a great start.
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91. Bosnia and Herzegovina home (Kelme)
90. Croatia home: This is the only shirt on the list that makes us angry. Croatia is a great kit that doesn’t need reimagining, yet every tournament it gets fiddled! This time, someone at Nike has etch-a-sketched out the middle of a very attractive, near perfect Croatia shirt. And we’re unhappy about it.
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90. Croatia home (Nike)
89. Netherlands home: The Dutch shirt should not be hard to get right but the fluorescent edge to this one is too much. The big central crest looks a bit village too.
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89. Netherlands home (Nike)
88. Japan home: Probably a bit harsh to place this 88th in a list of 96 shirts. But it’s a bit odd, and it’s here now.
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88. Japan home (Adidas)
87. Cape Verde away: A bit bland. Like eating dry toast. These lads flew to the World Cup signing and dancing on the plane. They deserve more.
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87. Cape Verde away (Tempo)
86. Ghana home: Sorry, Ghana. We’ve really tried to love this shirt. We’ve tried turning it around, upside down. We’ve squinted at it. We’ve read about the mythical spider in Ghanaian folklore it is meant to invoke. But ultimately, it is a bit of a mess.
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(Puma)
85. Uruguay away: Sorry but that’s a USA shirt and we won’t be taking any questions on the matter.
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85. Uruguay away (Nike)
84. England away: The central crest gives it a slight Pro-Evo feel, which is not a good thing, and the background is a bit... weird.
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84. England away (Nike)
83. DR Congo away: Colour fades generally don’t work but this one is not bad, although it’s less DR Congo and more San Marino. Side point: it’s not dissimilar to the home colour, and being dissimilar really is the raison d’etre of any away shirt.
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83. DR Congo away (Umbro)
82. France home: The lighter blue French shirts will always be better, and the zig-zag background is a bit much.
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82. France home (Nike)
81. Mexico away: Not colourful enough to feel Mexican – it seems like something Germany should be wearing.
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81. Mexico away (Adidas)
80. Netherlands away: A bit better from the Netherlands, this, but not much.
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80. Netherlands away (Nike)
79. Norway away: We like simplicity, but is this too simple? “The stripped-down, striking visual honours the country’s viking history and celebrates the squad’s raw, Norse confidence,” claims Nike. Sorry, we’re not having it.
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79. Norway away (Nike)
78. Saudi Arabia home: Makes us want to play Tetris.
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78. Saudi Arabia home (Adidas)
77. Egypt home: It’s giving a vibe of not actually having the image rights to the pyramids, like when the early versions of Pro Evolution Soccer didn’t own naming rights and players were called things like Ruud van Nistelstrom.
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77. Egypt home (Puma)
76. Qatar away: There’s clean and simple, and then there’s just bland.
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76. Qatar away (Adidas)
75. Bosnia and Herzegovina away: Kelme are back for more, and this one is less of an assault on the iris, which is something. Or would that be the pupil, technically? Suppose really the retina is doing the heavy lifting, image-wise. Anyway, it’s unremarkable.
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75. Bosnia and Herzegovina away (Kelme)
74. Curacao home: A little uninspiring, which is a shame, because as we will discuss later, the away shirt is a beauty.
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74. Curacao home (Adidas)
73. Turkey home: Quite a lot to dislike here. The strange pattern, the horizontal block line, the centralised crest. It’s just not working.
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73. Turkey home (Nike)
72. Switzerland home: A bit odd but broadly fine. And the crest is a big plus.
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72. Switzerland home (Puma)
71. Uzbekistan home: Into the fray step 7Saber, with a similar blocky style to Saudi Arabia. The collar’s quite fun but the rest of it, we can take or leave.
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71. Uzbekistan home (7saber)
70. Uzbekistan away: Pretty similar.
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70. Uzbekistan away (7saber)
69. Brazil away: Vinicius and company will make this look good, we’ve no doubt, but it does look a bit like someone’s had a spillage.
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69. Brazil away (Nike)
68. New Zealand home: It’s a little plain but the subtle fern-inspired background is pleasant enough. And black shirts are almost always cool, so that helps.
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68. New Zealand home (Puma)
67. Paraguay away: Psychedelic.
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67. Paraguay away (Puma)
66. Scotland home: Classic, solid, no mistakes here. But a bit... safe?
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66. Scotland home (Adidas)
65. Australia home: A little plain.
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65. Australia home (Nike)
64. Iran home: We would usually question the aesthetic benefit of printing the ghost of a big cat’s face on a football shirt, but given it is there to raise awareness of the plight of the Asiatic cheetah, we approve. The sleeve print is a nice touch, too.
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64. Iran home (Majid)
63. Sweden home: A touch boring, maybe, but broadly acceptable.
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63. Sweden home (Adidas)
62. Turkey away: A bit better than the home shirt.
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62. Turkey away (Nike)
61. Argentina home: It looks great from a distance. But look closely and the faded, blocky stripes are a little ugly.
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61. Argentina home (Adidas)
60. Egypt away: We’ve just noticed Puma are putting Pumas on all of their shirt shoulders and we can’t stop noticing it now.
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60. Egypt away (Puma)
59. Iran away: Much the same as the home edition, but better.
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59. Iran away (Majid)
58. Panama away: Panama’s third shirt is absolutely lovely – Scotland Euro 96 vibes – but we are only allowing home and away kits into these rankings or we’d not have time to see our family, and unfortunately the away shirt is a little underwhelming.
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58. Panama away (Reebok)
57. Jordan home: This is a bit better from Kelme, upping their game with a fun shoulder pattern and some subtle striping down the body.
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57. Jordan home (Kelme)
56. Jordan away: Much the same but in reverse.
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56. Jordan away (Kelme)
55. Tunisia home: Kappa, welcome! This one is absolutely OK.
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55. Tunisia home (Kappa)
54. Tunisia away: Likewise. Thanks, Kappa.
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54. Tunisia away (Kappa)
53. Canada home: The maple leaf motif is a little gimmicky, but we’re feeling generous.
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53. Canada home (Nike)
52. Cape Verde home: Jazzy.
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52. Cape Verde home (Tempo)
51. Croatia away: This one works slightly better than the home shirt but we’re still thinking about it.
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51. Croatia away (Nike)
50. England home: Sharp trim, fine lines, classic colours. A solid effort.
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50. England home (Nike)
49. South Korea away: Korea’s purple flowers are a big room-splitter, and we’ve toyed with putting this shirt at the very bottom of our rankings. But no, it’s daring and original, and Korea already have one shirt down there, so we’re giving this one The Independent’s official stamp of mediocrity.
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49. South Korea away (Nike)
48. New Zealand away: That background pattern symbolises “the four winds that bring the country together”, say Puma. We don’t mind it, and we like the white sleeves and collar which gives this kit a clean look. Though if we’re being picky, which we are, the black Puma and white fern are slightly jarring together.
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48. New Zealand away (Puma)
47. Algeria away: The red trim elevates this shirt with some smart detail.
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47. Algeria away (Adidas)
46. Austria home: Good solid colours, bold blocks, hard lines. Very Austrian.
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46. Austria home (Puma)
45. Belgium home: Feels like classic Belgian fare, and we’re happy with it.
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45. Belgium home (Adidas)
44. Qatar home: Funky pattern. Don’t mind it.
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44. Qatar home (Adidas)
43. Ecuador home: Perfectly nice. We move on.
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43. Ecuador home (Marathon)
42. Morocco away: We love the background pattern here. The sleeves just need a little something.
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42. Morocco away (Puma)
41. Czechia home: Absolutely fine, middle of the road, a solid football shirt. The button is a nice detail.
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41. Czechia home (Puma)
40. Portugal home: Wavy. Uncomplicated.
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40. Portugal home (Puma)
39. South Africa home: Yep, smart pattern here, good colours, distinctly South African feel.
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39. South Africa home (Adidas)
38. Ivory Coast home: Orange, in a good way.
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38. Ivory Coast home (Puma)
37. Czechia away: It’s quite bold to dabble with gold when you’re anyone other than Brazil or Germany, basically – deep World Cup heritage. But fair play to Czechia, who’ve gone for it anyway, lifting what is otherwise a pleasant shirt.
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37. Czechia away (Puma)
36. Iraq home: The good people at Jako tend to pull out the odd banger and the away version of this shirt is particularly eye-catching. But we like the design on the home shirt too.
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36. Iraq home (Jako)
35. Germany away: The three little diamonds make for a neat pattern and the colours are sharp. It’s a lovely aesthetic.
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35. Germany away (Adidas)
34. Spain home: This shirt doesn’t say a lot in isolation, but the sleeves tie in nicely with the shorts and there’s a yellow strip on the shoulders which we also enjoy. Perhaps not one of Spain’s great World Cup shirts but a good effort.
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34. Spain home (Adidas)
33. Brazil home: Sometimes a simple, classic design works best, especially for nations with aura embedded in the crest. There are shades of 2002 here in the green trim down the sides and around the neck line.
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33. Brazil home (Nike)
32. Colombia home: Inspired by magical realism, says Adidas, whatever that is. But we like this shirt: good solid Colombian colours, a neat background pattern, a pleasant shoulder trim. Well done to all involved.
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32. Colombia home (Adidas)
31. Haiti home: OK, nice little collar, bold blue body, a powerful scene depicting silhouettes of Haiti’s independence heroes triumphantly raising the national flag, smart red sleeve trim... Hold on, what?
Now, if basically any other country had done this it would be an abomination, but a quick Google tells us the Haitian Revolution is widely regarded as the only successful large-scale slave revolt in human history, creating the first Black republic in the world, so we say bravo.
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31. Haiti home (Saeta)
30. Haiti away: This one is even more pleasing than the home shirt, given the way the flag’s colours stand out.
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30. Haiti away (Saeta)
29. Panama home: A nice colour, a nice collar. Nice.
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29. Panama home (Reebok)
28. Portugal away: This could be quite Marmite but we’re feeling generous. Like the colour, like the waves, just about like the V.
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28. Portugal away (Puma)
27. Saudi Arabia away: Almost all of the Adidas away kits are superb and this is another. It’s quite simple and yet really sharp and clean. We need to again call out the use of gold, which should be reserved for football royalty, but other than that it’s a lovely entrant.
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27. Saudi Arabia away (Adidas)
26. Algeria home: Creamy. The pattern is nice and subtle.
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26. Algeria home (Adidas)
25. Ghana away: The pattern is based on Accra’s Makola Market, says Puma, and why not. A sunny shade, too. All together a pleasing edition.
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25. Ghana away (Puma)
24. Sweden away: We really like the design but the issue here is that it’s not very Swedish. It’s Brazilian, maybe, or Colombian, perhaps. Even so, it’s a lovely thing.
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24. Sweden away (Adidas)
23. Ivory Coast away: This was briefly in the ‘terrible’ pile but we reconsidered and decided it is actually so bold and mad that it’s great. It’s in the ‘excellent’ pile and it’s not moving.
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23. Ivory Coast away (Puma)
22. Morocco home: Collar of the tournament.
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22. Morocco home (Puma)
21. Senegal away: Yeah we like this a lot. Slightly running out of things to say about football shirts at this point if truth be told. If you’re still with us, thanks, great stamina. We’re on the home straight...
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21. Senegal away (Puma)
20. South Africa away: Another away belter from Adidas, although – and maybe this is just because we know it’s South Africa – we can’t stop thinking this is a Cricket World Cup shirt from some time in the 2010s. Still, there’s a lot to like here.
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20. South Africa away (Adidas)
19. United States away: This is pretty great, with the faint black stars in the background and the thin red trim over the shoulders. Black shirts are almost always cool and this one is a doozy.
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19. United States away (Nike)
18. United States home: Setting aside the USA’s obsession with its flag, this is just objectively a great shirt. It is very American, which is important, it’s distinctive, it’s bright and it’s pretty to look at. Much better than some of the bland stuff they’ve worn before. Oh, and we just got it – two shirts, stars and stripes. Very good.
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18. United States home (Nike)
17. Canada away: Is it a constellation or a light dust of icing? Either way, this looks great.
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17. Canada away (Nike)
16. DR Congo home: Umbro’s sole entrant to the World Cup is DR Congo, and it’s a belter. Is it blue fire? Is it the back of a large frog? We’re not sure.
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16. DR Congo home (Umbro)
15. Japan away: We love a pinstripe, as previous World Cup kit rankings will attest, and even though this one looks like it’s been done by a four-year-old with a box of crayons, we approve this effort by Japan.
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15. Japan away (Adidas)
14. Norway home: We see what you’ve done here, Norway: you’re wearing a big flag. We like it, and Erling Haaland is going to look majestic in this thing. We’re not sure how far Norway will go in the World Cup but their shirt is a big plus! Cheers, all.
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14. Norway home (Nike)
13. Scotland away: What a shade. Salmon, terracotta, coral? Whatever it is, we like it.
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13. Scotland away (Adidas)
12. Ecuador away: Now, this we like this from the good people at Marathon. It’s a deep, moody shade of blue with a great collar, and Moises Caicedo will make some authoritative tackles in this thing.
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12. Ecuador away (Marathon)
11. Spain away: We really like this. It’s simple but neat and crisp, like a Xavi pass.
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11. Spain away (Adidas)
10. Austria away: One of Puma’s best this summer – the watercolour splodges work somehow, and we like the faint gold pattern on top. We called Czechia out for dabbling with gold and it is risky, but Austria have got away with it.
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10. Austria away (Puma)
9. Iraq away: Here’s the Iraq away shirt we mentioned earlier, and it’s a cracker.
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9. Iraq away (Jako)
8. Uruguay home: A picture of elegance. The sort of shirt you want to wine and dine at a high-end restaurant on a first date. Darwin Nunez is going to look incredibly sharp hitting the post from a variety of ranges wearing this thing.
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8. Uruguay home (Nike)
7. Belgium away: Inspired by Belgium’s surrealist movement, says Adidas. Garish, in a great way. It’s perilously close to being awful, but we love it.
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7. Belgium away (Adidas)
6. France away: Well this is lovely. The mint green, the subtle tricolour sleeve trim, the understated neckline. Overall it doesn’t feel very French (Portugal, away, maybe?) but it’s a very fine shirt.
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6. France away (Nike)
5. Senegal home: This could just be quite a nice T-shirt. But it makes a really great football shirt.
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5. Senegal home (Puma)
4. Mexico home: Mexico have topped our kit rankings in years gone by with an Aztec pattern similar to this one, and this summer’s home shirt is a very cool version on the same theme.
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4. Mexico home (Adidas)
3. Germany home: We love a throwback and this has nostalgic shades of Italia 90 and USA 94, both elite Germany shirts, while standing on its own as a fine design. Hopefully Germany go far just so this shirt has its own bit of football legacy.
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3. Germany home (Adidas)
2. Colombia away: Yes, Colombia! This pattern has a distinct World Cup flavour with notes of summer, samba and South America. If the home shirt is the heart of Colombia, the away kit is a little slice of Caribbean coast. You could wear this to a summer barbecue and be the coolest person there. Though worth noting that if someone else was also wearing the same shirt at said barbecue, you’d both look a bit tragic. We don’t make the rules.
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2. Colombia away (Adidas)
1. Curacao away: It’s perfect. The soft yellow tone, the bold blue sleeves, the old-school Adidas logo, the shoulder stripes. Even the collar is exquisite, and the bright colours writing out "Curacao" over the shoulder blades hint at a nation in North America for a good time, not a long time. We have our king.
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1. Curacao away (Adidas)
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