It’s that time of year again! With the FIFA World Cup just around the corner, all 32 teams competing this year in Qatar have released their home and away kits (except one, which you’ll find out below). It’s at this point where every football fan feels the need to give their two pence about which country’s jerseys hit the back of the net, and which get a red card. Well here at DMARGE, things are no different, as we take you through the best and worst on show next month.
An iconic soccer jersey can permanently etch a team in the memory of fans across the world. Diego Maradona in ’86 donning the famous Argentinian blue and white stripes, or Adidas’ masterpiece for Germany’s 1990 World-Cup winning squad spring to mind. On the other hand, a bad kit can leave you immortalised for all the wrong reasons (we’re looking at you Jorge Campos!)
We have placed all the jerseys into categories, ranging from ‘top of the table’ to the ‘red cards’. The shirts have been assessed on how aesthetically pleasing they are, with some countries scoring high for their originality and others for a fresh take on a retro design.
All home kits are featured on the left and all away kits on the right. For the countries who have third kits, their designs will be placed in the middle.
Time to kick off.
Top of the Table
Mexico
Arguably the best kits of the entire tournament, Mexico have excelled with their designs this year.
Returning to their traditional green – after previously wearing black and pink – the home kit features intricate geometric markings inspired by Quetzalcoatl, a god in Mexican culture. Finished off with the iconic three red stripes on the sleeves and impressive new badge, this kit is classy.
If Mexico scored with their home jersey, they’ve bagged a brace with their away kit. Paying tribute to Mexican ancient civilisations, Adidas have included a beautiful Aztec-influenced design on top of their white shirt. The subtle change in badge colour is also a nice touch.
Viva México!
Germany
The Germans, like their ability to take penalties, are so consistent every World Cup cycle with their choice of kits; and this year is no different.
The home kit features a new black vertical stripe down the middle – a bold choice – but one that contrasts well the gold centred DFB badge and Adidas logo. The colours of the German flag on the collar also add a new dimension.
Where Adidas have really killed it is with the away strip. The sharp dark red and black geometric design makes the gold badge stand out even more, which has been moved from the centre to the left of the chest.
If Germany end up victorious in Qatar, this will go down as an iconic look.
France
Similar to previous years, the French kits are pretty minimalist, but in both cases slight variations were added to keep these shirts traditional, yet sleek.
The navy blue and gold design of the home jersey will always be a winner, but this year they have added a faint oak leaf and olive branch pattern, giving it more energy. You can make your own mind up about the buttoned collar though.
The away strip features historic French iconography printed on the fabric, such as the Arc de Triomphe and a cockerel. If done badly this could have looked like doodles on a canvas, but France have kept it muted and classy as always.
C’est magnifique!
Japan
Another standout, the Japanese art of origami is the inspiration for their World Cup jerseys this year.
The home strip features an electric blue and white glitched design which accentuates the impressive Japanese Football Association logo.
The away strip too uses an origami-influenced pattern on the sleeves and shoulders, the red and blue used to create an almost 3D looking effect.
Japan may have just scored the winner here.
Spain
Adidas have kept it simple with the classic dark red design for Spain’s home jersey. In what is a very stereotypically Spanish-looking kit, the red is accompanied by a regal navy and gold trim on a squared V-neck collar.
Whilst the home kit is timeless, it is the away jersey that everyone has their eyes on. The sky blue, wavy design is distinctive and provides a pleasing contrast with the front and centre Spanish logo. The signature Adidas three stripes on the shoulder complete this kit.
This feels as if it has the potential to become a sought after “vintage” jersey in 20 years’ time. It’s a “si senor” from us!
Safe Pair of Hands
Qatar
Given the all the controversies surrounding this World Cup, wearing the host nation’s jersey won’t make you the most popular person in your football team. But you cannot deny Qatar have done a stellar job with the design of their kits.
Subdued, yet effective, the serrated trim on the home jersey is meant to represent the country’s flag, while the sandy hue and pattern of the away kit reflects the nation’s coastline and history of pearl-diving.
The large maroon logos and Nike ticks compliment the design and colour scheme nicely. A controversial choice, but for their first World Cup, Qatar score high on the kit-front.
Brazil
Yellow top, blue shorts and white socks. There’s not much that can go wrong with this signature Brazil colour arrangement, but Nike have added a few extras to keep things fresh.
A faint jaguar spot pattern quietly sits beneath the iconic yellow and green, and unbuttoning the collar will reveal a surprise Brazilian flag. The blue button acts as the globe seen in the national banner.
The spotted pattern is more apparent on the sleeves of the away top – the gradient from green to blue is a welcome addition.
The five-time World Cup winners are looking as recognizable as ever in 2022.
Argentina
Argentina will be sporting their classic blue and white stripes when they run out in Qatar, and given it is likely to be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, it seems fitting. The home kit is exactly what you imagine when you think of Argentinian football – with black trim on the sleeves and collar to boot.
On the other end of the scale, their away kit is fairly unconventional, but still very stylish.
The dark blue and lavender colour scheme and silver badge is very aesthetically pleasing, meant to represent the fight for gender quality.
However, the piece de resistance – the Bunsen burner-like blue flame design coming up from the bottom of the jersey. Here’s hoping Messi and co. can light up Qatar like their jersey suggests.
Portugal
Portugal have taken a simplistic, understated approach for this World Cup, but it’s one that suits them.
The home jersey is half-and-half design – where the green and red of the nation’s flag are separated diagonally. The design has caught some heat – but the loud colour scheme works with the gold Nike “swoosh”, meant to celebrate 25 years as Portugal’s kit supplier.
However, there are no qualms about Portugal’s away offering. The off-white jersey features a gorgeous, minimalist green and red stripe across the chest, again emulating the country’s flag. The black trim and Nike logo compliment the strip nicely.
A superb combo for what is surely Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup outing.
Poland
“Low-key” is definitely Poland’s approach for 2022 – but it is a look that they pull off. A fresh, new white home kit features a tonal striped graphic on the shoulders. It is designed to look like the nest and feathers of Poland’s national animal, the white eagle.
Nike have kept up the clean look for their change strip – a retro looking block red kit with white trim on the collar and sleeves. This strip feels like it’s straight from the 1980’s; Poland’s best finish at a World Cup was third in 1982, so maybe the designers are trying to tempt fate.
Other jerseys on this list have faltered for being too unimaginative, but in Poland’s case, simplicity is best!
Wales
Much like Brazil and France, Wales have nailed their classic look, but added a slight twist.
The ever-striking red of the home kit has been given an upgrade, with understated zigzags and green trim around the collar.
Similarly, the away kit adds a bit of zest to the white jersey with an interesting green and red pattern on the collar, which is mirrored on the sides and back of the jersey. In both designs, the timeless crested dragon can be seen roaring on the left side of the chest.
For their first outing in the World Cup since 1958, Wales will certainly be returning in style.
Ecuador
Marathon Sports have been making Ecuador kits since all the way back in 1966, but this year might just be the best of them all.
Clean-cut and a neater design than previous years, the home kit features the subtle tonal zigzags and the vibrant colours of the Ecuadorian flag, which nicely emphasise that gorgeous new logo.
The away strip is the real winner though. The geometric pattern and silver badge accompany each other nicely, all brought together by the nation’s flagon the sleeve.
Good job Ecuador. You’ve earned a place in our “safe pairs of hands” category.
Fifty-fifties
England
England are the poster boys for our fifty-fifty category; they got their kits half right this year. There won’t be many fans coming home with England’s first offering. Although it features the classic white design and three lions, the awkward blue gradient on the jersey’s shoulders looks like the players have suited up in shoulder pads.
It’s a different story with the away kit. Nike have taken the classic 1990 England away shirt, copied the homework, but changed it slightly to fool the teacher. They have kept the fold-collar and striking red of the original jersey but added a slight blue tinge on the badge and collar. A welcome addition.
Will this be what the England squad are wearing when football finally comes home?
Australia
Celebrating 100 years of their history, the Socceroos will be running out wearing the traditional gold in Qatar.
Nike have said that the home jersey, made up of different shades of gold with green trim, is meant to represent the “rugged sandy landscape of the outback and the rich wetlands and forests.” They have succeeded, creating an eye-catching jersey us Aussie fans should be proud of.
Nature is also the inspiration for the away colours – the dark blue and mint green colour scheme meant to represent the country’s coastline and marine life. While the colours work well, the design is odd; the trapezoid-like pattern on the collar is not dissimilar to a child’s bib.
Annoyingly close to getting three points here.
Croatia
Nike have tried to put a new twist on Croatia’s signature red and white checkers – the main body of the jersey is broken up to include more uneven areas of white and the badge is centred. While it does feel a little more “Minecraft blocky” than previous years, it really isn’t awful.
The away colours are where Croatia shine through. A motion-blurred light blue checked pattern features on the left shoulder; an audacious idea but one that incorporates nicely on top of the dark blue base.
A decent effort all round from Nike.
Morocco
Morocco’s red and green home top is an adaptation of their 1998 entry. However, it looks a little cleaner, the green stripe does not continue on to the sleeve and the top has changed from a polo to a V-neck. A proven design and colour scheme – this one is acceptable.
Puma have been causing quite the stir with their away kits this year – their shield-like templates for each of their designs have proven controversial.
However, Morocco’s away strip is probably the least questionable of the lot. It features an Arabic-style circular pattern where the number will sit, and a vertical grey stripe down the middle. The red and green trim on the sleeves and collar bring this all together.
Don’t hate it, don’t love it.
Iran
Iran’s kits have a fairly interesting design. The green and red wavy graphic across the chest feels a little 2006 – not necessarily a bad thing – but the subtle quadrant pattern above it brings a more modern spin.
Adding an etching of a Persian leopard near the bottom of the kit is unorthodox, but at least it sets it apart from other designs.
Where Iran falls short is the similarity between both kits. Simply changing the colour from white to red doesn’t cut it anymore. This stops Iran from being placed higher up.
Ghana
Much the previous entries in this category, only one of Ghana’s designs this year hit the back of the net.
The “Black Stars” live up to their nickname with their home offering – a white jersey featuring a big black star in the centre and national flag colours on the sleeve cuffs. It’s a pretty design, but one that would have benefitted using the same colours for the collar.
Unfortunately, Ghana’s away jersey was designed using Puma’s controversial shield patterning. The bright red top features a central golden square where the number will sit, below a sweet, jagged interpretation of the country’s flag.
The bright colours do save this jersey from being placed further down, despite Puma’s best attempts to make the front look like a cat-flap.
South Korea
Both of South Korea’s kits are proving to be subjective amongst football fans.
A brash home jersey, South Korea have offered up a bright red design with a black collar and tonal tiger stripes integrated into the shoulders.
To live up to their “Red Devils” moniker, the triangles at the side of the jersey merge together with the side panel of the shorts to create the impression of a tail.
You either love or you hate the Jackson Pollock-style away jersey. Streaks of red, blue and yellow represent Taegeuk – the symbol on the Korean flag meaning balance of the universe.
Regardless of what you think of the design, South Korea won’t go unnoticed when they run out in Qatar.
Tunisia
Whilst Tunisia’s colour scheme is straightforward, the pattern on the front of the jersey is complex.
The decoration is based on the ‘Ksor Esseff’ cuirass, a piece of armour discovered in Tunisia, dating back to the 3rd century. It features on the front of both the home and away kit, breathing life into what is an otherwise plain design.
However, Tunisia runs into the same problem as Iran, where all Kappa have done for the away kit is change the colour. It may have worked in previous World Cups, but this year countries have upped the ante.
Uruguay
The home jersey is classic Uruguay, it’s amazing. The signature sky blue jersey is accompanied by white trim on the collar and sleeves and the golden Puma badge really completes the design.
The four golden stars atop the badge shine bright for La Celeste here.
It is a different story with the away kit; it is another jersey which has received the Puma shield treatment.
The blue and white stripes on the sleeves and neck are a nice touch, as are the vertical lines running down the front. However, they are completely overshadowed by the large shield-like design, which turns this from a football strip to a baseball jersey.
A lot of wasted potential with this creation.
Howlers
Denmark
At first glance, the Denmark kits look very basic and uninteresting. The logos, Hummel sponsor and design are the same base colour as the home and away shirt. The only saving grace, it seems, is the tonal stripe pattern, a call back to Denmark’s European Championship winning side in 1992.
However, this is entirely intentional. Hummel designed the shirts in protest of Qatar being made World Cup host, given the country’s human rights record.
After hearing this, it feels wrong to give these jerseys the red card – they are still a “howler” though!
Saudi Arabia
There’s not actually too much wrong with the Saudi Arabian home kit. The white jersey, green trim combination is a tried-and-tested look, and the palm leaf tonal pattern underneath brings the shirt to life.
However, the design is the same as on their kits in 2020. C’mon Saudi Arabia! You’ve got four years to design a new jersey. Also, the green from the logo is a slightly different shade from that of the trim and Nike badge, making this top mildly infuriating.
It gets worse with the away jersey. A bold forest green camouflage design will always be a risk – but this comes off looking more army uniform than football kit.
Nike tried for Apocalypse Now but ended up looking like Tropic Thunder.
Netherlands
It feels like the designers at Nike couldn’t decide on the patented “Oranje” or gold for the Netherlands’ home kit, so they’ve thought, “screw it, we’ll meet in the middle.” What’s left is a horrible shade of reflective amber, more akin to a cycle top or tradie’s hi-vis jacket. The stripe design also leaves the shirts looking permanently creased.
This one’s a howler.
If the home kit was trying too hard, the away kit isn’t trying at all. A boring blue, black and red colour design makes this kit look more like a training top – and instantly forgettable.
Let’s hope the Netherlands let their football do the talking.
Belgium
Belgium will certainly stand out when they take the field in Qatar, but for all the wrong reasons.
The home kit is absolutely comical. A red and black jersey with flames on each of the sleeves – this top looks like it belongs on Guy Fieri, not Kevin de Bruyne. Belgium fans asked for well done, but instead Adidas have served them up something completely overcooked.
The away jersey feels a little confused. The white base colour for the jersey is fine, but the multicoloured logo and trim is messy and disjointed. The word ‘LOVE’ is printed on the back of the back of the top, but there’s not much of it to give here.
Serbia
Serbia’s home top is fairly generic, but a pretty clean design. The Serbians will be donning all red, with gold trim on the sleeves and the collar.
Also, Qatar marks the first time that the nation’s new logo will be used – the cross pattern repeatedly faintly on the front and sleeves.
The away kit features another Puma cookie-cutter frontal frame template, this time a metallic gold jaggy design with the federation badge at the top and a dark blue number featuring in the middle.
Let’s be honest, it’s not a great look.
Senegal
Senegal’s design is actually very similar to Ghana’s – except not as good.
The home kit was designed as an homage to the 2002 Senegal team that reached the quarter finals of that year’s tournament. How moving; except the kit looks absolutely nothing like the classic from 2002.
The green, yellow and red trim on the collar, as well as the sleeves works well – and is an element which Ghana missed out on. However, your eyes are instead drawn to the giant chevron which will sit right across the players’ chest.
And any guesses as to why the away kit is disappointing? Points to whoever guessed it was designed by Puma. Another shield-like design hampers this jersey.
Red Cards
USA
Supposedly the USA’s home kit “draws inspiration from the Unites States’ diversity and storied legacy across a variety of sports, leagues and associations.” Clearly, the designers were not inspired enough.
Yes, the large logo looks similar to an NBA singlet and the mid-sleeve stripes are slightly reminiscent of an American football or ice hockey jersey, but it’s boring and a little characterless. It is not inaccurate to say Nike played it a little too safe here.
To add insult to injury, the away kit has caused even more of a stir amongst USA’s ever-patriotic fans. Whilst at least trying something different, the blue tie-die makes these kits look like training tops with a call of duty camo.
A big red card shown for the USA.
Switzerland
Switzerland receive the unfortunate award for “Worst Puma Kit of 2022” – which is saying something given the previous entries on this list.
The home kit is fairly standard – an all-red affair featuring a pinstripe design that fades as it moves down from the shoulders. Slightly “Where’s Wally?”, but it works fine. The puma badge, Swiss FA emblem and square Swiss flag are placed just below.
The away top is where things get truly dreadful. The middle of the jersey features another number frame, which genuinely looks like a calendar or massive QR code. What were Puma thinking?
This one is going down in the history books.
Costa Rica
For all of Puma’s shortcomings in their designs, you have to give them credit for trying something new. In the case of Costa Rica, they have done completely the opposite – both kits lack all imagination.
Los Ticos settled on a basic red jersey for their home outing, while the sleeves are coloured blue. The design is repeated and changed to white for the away kit.
If FIFA 23 were to autogenerate a home and away jersey, they make well look like this.
Canada
In what might be some of the most generic kits ever made, Canada may take home the honours as this year’s worst dressed of the World Cup.
The only worthy point of note is the red striped pattern on the shoulders of the home kit, but this by no means the most aesthetically pleasing design. The away top is literally a plain white shirt with a Nike “swoosh” and Canada badge.
To make matters worse, the kits are the exact same ones worn during their qualifying campaign. For their first World Cup since 1986, Canadian fans will be very disappointed with this effort.
Cameroon
After a dispute with previous supplier Le Coq Sportif, Cameroon’s 2022 World Cup jerseys will be supplied by One All Sports.
The reason they place at the bottom? They’ve still not released them yet. As a result, there still aren’t any official images of the jerseys. Teaser images have been released of the training kit, but we want to see the official kit!
There’s only six weeks to go – hurry up Cameroon!