The best and worst 2022 World Cup kits
The 2022 World Cup is almost here, which means it’s time to rank some kits (uniforms).
Each country that qualifies chooses its own brand to make their kits. Nine brands were chosen across the 32 countries that qualified. Adidas, Nike and Puma made 26 of the 32 kits and six smaller brands made the remaining six kits. Let’s examine the five best and five worst 2022 World Cups kits.
Best 2022 World Cup kits
France
A good Nike-made kit went to France. The home kit is classic and simple, with a strong Blue color for “Les Bleus” and gold accents for the crest. The away kit is stunning, with a white background with French imagery woven into the shirt, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Clairefontaine youth academy.
Argentina
Adidas’ first kit in this list belongs to Argentina. The home kit remains the same as previous World Cups, white with thick sky-blue stripes down the front and black accent stripes along the neckline and shoulders. You can’t go wrong with Argentina’s classic home kits. Their away kits have turned some heads, though.
For the first time in its history, Argentina will be wearing a purple kit with a fiery design on the bottom half of the shirt that was inspired by the Sun of May on its national flag.
“The new away shirt of the national side transmits a powerful message of gender equality, aligned with the values of diversity and inclusion that our brand promotes,” said Pablo Lamo, general manager of Adidas Argentina. “Through sport, we have the opportunity to change people’s lives, and soccer is one of the ideal tools to transform reality.”
Japan
Adidas made a splash with Japan’s kit, especially their home one. The home kit is blue with pinstripes on the shoulders with red side panels. The design on the front showcases origami cranes made of white lines. That in itself would make for a good kit but the away kits complete the look. The away kits are similar to the home ones, in that they feature origami cranes, but this time they are made up of blue and red lines and are on the shoulders of the shirt, which is white and has black pinstripes on the tops of the shoulders.
Mexico
Mexico might have the best kits of the tournament. Their home shirt is green with red pinstripes on the tops of the shoulders, but what makes this shirt great is the design on the front. The design is a scaly, serpent-like design that draws inspiration from the Mexican mythological creature Quetzalcoatl. Not to be outdone, the away kit is white with a maroon-colored design that takes up most of the space on the front of the shirt and draws inspiration from the Mayan feathered serpent which represents the union between the earth and sky.
Saudi Arabia
Finishing off the best is another appearance from Nike. While most countries have a solid color for their home kit, Saudi Arabia opted for a white home shirt. The shirt also features depictions of palm trees all over the front of the shirt along with the Saudi Arabian football crest on the left breast of the shirt. The away shirt is a vibrant green with jagged pattern features all over the front of the shirt and is certainly an eye-catcher.
Worst 2022 World Cup kits
United States
Let’s start with the Nike-made US kits. The home kit is mostly plain white with the US Soccer crest centered on the top of the front. There are red and blue accent stripes down the side and by the neck. The away kit is a little better with a blue tie-dye theme and the crest in the middle, but overall the US kits are one of the disappointing ones for the World Cup.
Iran
Iran’s kits for the 2022 World Cup were made by Majid, an Iranian sports apparel producer. Both home and away kits are very similar; the only difference is the home shirt is white and the away shirt is red. The Iranian football crest is on the left breast and the shoulders have a weird cheetah print pattern. The kits are pretty boring and the only real difference between home and away being the color doesn’t add excitement.
Switzerland
Puma entered the kit game for the 2022 World Cup and might have claimed the worst kit of the year with poor Switzerland taking the fall. The red home kit is a strong color but other than the pinstripes on the shoulders, there’s nothing else to talk about. The away kits, on the other hand, are getting flack for having what looks like the calendar emoji on the iPhone or a “Hello my name is” name tag in the center of the white shirt.
Serbia
Puma loves a big logo on the front of a shirt apparently. Serbia’s away kit shirt is similar to Switzerland’s, in that it has a large logo in the center of the shirt and not much else. This centered logo has more details than Switzerland’s. An octagon-like shape with the player’s number in the middle and the Serbian crest at the top of the shape. Other than that the away shirt is pretty boring. As is the home shirt, bright red with gold accents and faded star-like shapes all over the front.
Uruguay
The Uruguay home kit kind of looks like a shirt you would wear to Thanksgiving dinner. It’s sky blue with a button at the neck and white sleeve ends. The kits are made by Puma so guess what’s in the center of their away shirt? If you guessed a big centered logo you’d be right! This one is actually a little nicer than Switzerland and Serbia’s away shirt. It features a crest-like centered logo with the player’s numbers and Uruguay’s crest on the top of the logo. This away shirt from Puma has Uruguayan sky blue stripes down the middle of the front and stripes on the sleeve ends and neckline.
The 2022 World Cup will begin on Sunday, Nov. 20 with host Qatar playing Ecuador at 11 a.m. on FS1 and streaming on the Fox Sports app.
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