The 2022 World Cup is edging ever closer and football fans are starting to think long and hard about how their team will look in Qatar.
They’re wondering how their pick of the 32 nations will look both in teams of their exact squad and brand of football, but also in a literal sense: how they’ll appear on the pitch in their kits for the tournament.
When a kit manufacturer produces the threads for a country heading to the biggest competition in all of men’s football, the majority of them grab the opportunity with both hands and deliver a new set of strips for the special occasion.
New kits at the 2022 World Cup
And ahead of the first winter tournament in World Cup history, nothing has changed in that regards with the best nations across the globe ready to show off their new shirts to millions of viewers.
However, as we all know, some football kits are better than others and it’s become more and more popular for supporters to rank and rate designs based on their personal tastes in recent years.
Let’s face it, if you’re reading this article, then you must have at least consumed one of our previous rankings – or dare we say that of a competitor’s – before whether that be focusing on the Premier League, Champions League or anything and everything in between.
Quiz: Can you name these 20 obscure World Cup winners?
Which World Cup kits are the best and worst?
So, naturally, it only made sense that we took a look at the World Cup kits in a similar light, starting with the home jerseys set to appear on pitches across Qatar.
Calling upon the kit experts over at Footy Headlines, we’ve gone through each of the 32 home strips which have either been released or leaked, and ranked them from worst to best looking.
It is, of course, an inherently subjective exercise and one based on the opinion of your humble GIVEMESPORT writer, which is no more or less important than yours when it comes to the world of football kits.
And it’s also important to stress that the decisions have been made purely and exclusively based on the aesthetic metrics of the jerseys as opposed to any political, moral or commemoratory subtexts they’re designed to convey.
Read more: World Cup 2022: Dates, Schedule, UK Kick Off Times, Stadiums, Groups, Tickets, Odds and Much More
Ranking every World Cup home kit
Got it? Right then, well, let’s get underway as we rank all 32 World Cup home shirts from worst to best down below (don’t hate us too much):
32. Cameroon
Straight off the bat and there’s drama to contend with because according to Footy Headlines, the new Cameroon shirts recently released by One All Sports and designed to be worn at the World Cup, might never actually appear in Qatar due to an apparent legal dispute with Le Coq Sportif.
However, if the Cameroonians do sport their latest threads, then I’m afraid they’ll rank rock bottom for style because to say that the chest and torso texturing looks cheap would be the mother of all understatements.
Cameroon’s kit for the World Cup in Qatar. 🚨🇨🇲#Cameroon #WorldCup #AfricanFootball pic.twitter.com/6Sn1pzrvVD
— Micky Jnr ✪ (@MickyJnr__) November 5, 2022
31. Belgium
The cartoonish flames on the sleeves are what instantly relegates this Belgium shirt to the deepest depths of the ranking, earning simultaneously amusing and damning comparisons to shirts that 2000s kids in the UK would wear to Year 6 discos.
30. Portugal
A universally disliked strip that we feel bad picking on, but at the end of the day, this is a thoroughly underwhelming jersey to mark what will almost certainly be Cristiano Ronaldo‘s final ever World Cup.
29. England
As an England fan myself, am I being especially harsh on Nike having expected a lot more? That would be a fair question to ask, but given the sublime quality of the away shirt, it’s hard not to facepalm at the sight of a poor home strip which overegged the ‘blue shoulder’ pudding.
28. Canada
Canada wouldn’t have attracted so many eye-rolls for seemingly enduring as the only team not to change their kits for the World Cup if it wasn’t for the fact that their shirts are, well, pretty boring.
27. Morocco
And that’s the moral of the story in this section of the list, really, because Puma’s uninventive take on Morocco’s home strip hardly gets our pulses racing.
26. Switzerland
It’s a similar story with Switzerland, too, who always seem to end up with home kits that look near-enough identical tournament after tournament after tournament. At least, that’s how it feels.
25. Uruguay
Man, I’m starting to feel bad about snoring at the sight of Puma home kits, because the sad reality is that I’m even less of a fan of their ‘box’ templates for the away shirts, but more on that next time.
24. Iran
Pause the Puma bashing for now because although I love the shoulder texturing as an idea on paper, I can’t help feeling as though the execution could have been a lot less heavy-handed. Nevertheless, the green, white and red all work well together.
Iran’s Football Federation has finally unveiled the national team’s official kit for FIFA World Cup 12 days before the beginning of the tournament.
The kits have been produced by Iranian company Majid. pic.twitter.com/8lYVMP7a7g— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) November 8, 2022
23. Poland
To be fair, there’s not a whole lot you can do with a Poland home shirt, but I’m just not really feeling what Nike have done in order to differentiate it with what must go down as some dodgy texturing.
22. Ecuador
Pretty solid work here with yellow, red and blue always making for an easy-on-the-eyes tricolour, even if I’m ultimately not a fan of either the Marathon logo nor Ecuador’s new-ish badge.
21. Costa Rica
Just about as middle of the road as this list can possibly get. Decent stuff.
20. Germany
Adidas, to their credit, have produced a design that feels both classic and modern, so it’s pretty difficult to dislike, but I’m just not as enamored with the central black column as many football fans have been.
19. France
What promised to be arguably the best home strip at the tournament when it was first leaked has, well, left me a bit cold now that it’s hit the clothes rails. Is that just me?
18. Wales
Do you know what? The more Adidas strips I’m seeing, the less I’m liking their wordless reimagining of their logo, but to be fair, their Wales design is a good enough design even if the texturing probably could have done with being a bit more subtle.
17. United States of America
A widely maligned strip that I actually don’t mind and a big part of that comes from the template Nike have used which, intentionally or not, seems to embody NFL jerseys to the point where it feels distinctly American. Still nothing life-changing, mind.
🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: USA’s World Cup kits. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/22HOC9orfH
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) September 15, 2022
16. Argentina
And in something of a role reversal to my feelings on the USA shirt, I just don’t understand all the hype for Argentina‘s new home design, which simply feels a little bit run of the mill to me.
15. Denmark
Again, kindly remember that we’re ranking the kits based on their aesthetics alone. Hummels’ all-red shirt makes for an eye-catching design, looking clean, sleek and smart.
14. Australia
The quality is really starting to ramp up now and although I’m a big fan of how these particular shades of yellow and green really pop on the jersey, the texturing does look a little bit too much like one of the old brush-mark effects on Microsoft Paint.
13. Saudi Arabia
By contrast, here’s how to do texturing right with Nike’s design work blending in well with the overall colour scheme of the shirt, even if the combination of white and green doesn’t light up our eyes as much.
12. Netherlands
Another strip that must be a nightmare to try and reimagine each time, but to Nike’s credit, they’ve mixed things up with a unique texture that could have just done with a little more black on either the shoulders or collar.
11. Serbia
A divisive one, this, but it’s all about the colour combination in my eyes and this mixture of red and gold might just make for the most aesthetically-pleasing palette in Qatar this winter.
10. Ghana
The vibrancy of the Pan-African colours sizzle and shine on the smart white background of this excellent Puma design with Ghana’s iconic black star taking pride of place in the centre of the chest. Chef’s kiss.
World Cup 2022: Ghana misses out on Top 10 best kits for the tournament https://t.co/XjxmCJQKJM pic.twitter.com/lXQrKRWpi5
— Ghanasoccernet.com (@Ghanasoccernet) October 31, 2022
9. Tunisia
Who knows, maybe I’ve lost the plot with this one because to say that Kappa have swung for the fences with their ‘Armor of Hannibal’ graphic is putting things mildly, but I kind of love the shirt for it.
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥: Tunisia home & away kits 🇹🇳
The Eagles of Carthage will make their 6th appearance at the FIFA World Cup™ this November in Qatar.
🛒 https://t.co/pLH0cSyCP7 pic.twitter.com/X8csu7Fc3r
— World Soccer Shop (@WrldSoccerShop) October 6, 2022
8. Senegal
Admired for very similar reasons to the Ghana shirt, but the striking chevron straight down the chest is what makes Senegal’s threads even more gorgeous with that quartet of white, green, red and yellow really singing off the fabric.
This will be Senegal’s new 2022 home kit for the World Cup.#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/gtyXvdcPhJ
— Abraham Adamson (@AdamsonAbraham) May 30, 2022
7. Croatia
It must be a nightmare for kit designers to take a unique approach to Croatia’s iconic home design each tournament, but boy have Nike pulled the rabbit out of the hat with an almost digital-looking effort that gets better with each viewing.
6. Spain
A contender for the ‘smartest’ strip at the tournament, Spain‘s mouth-watering cocktail of red, yellow and navy has never oozed so much class before.
5. South Korea
Look, it’s no secret that Korea’s World Cup kits are pure fire and to be honest, Nike had something of an open goal to score in when they could base their designs around the tiger on the federation’s badge – and boy did they channel that perfectly.
4. Brazil
Is it just me or has Brazil‘s classic tricolour of yellow, green and blue never popped so much on a home kit before? Maybe, maybe, but there’s just something about this design that looks better than ever on the Selecao.
3. Mexico
A design steeped in Mexican culture with the texturing said to be inspired by the Aztec feathered-serpent god, Quetzalcoatl, who also features on the neck of the jersey, this beauty will no doubt be many people’s pick for the finest at the tournament.
Mexico National Team Home Kit 🟢🟢🟢
Available And In Original @jersey_city_256 pic.twitter.com/Hjf5nlQsTi— jersey_city_256 (@jersey_city_256) November 2, 2022
2. Qatar
We didn’t expect this either, trust us. However, it just so happens that the colours of the Qatari flag make for a beautiful blend and, in turn, a beautiful kit with the centralised logos and white spikes on the sleeves all coming together for a real stunner.
1. Japan
I mean, just look at the damn thing. It’s game, set and match to Adidas as they continue to dominate the kit game right now, pumping out a Japan strip with an absolute worldie of an origami-inspired design that gets 10/10 for originality and cultural relevance.
Which shirt is your favourite?
Look, look, look, we know you’re angry and we know you passionately disagree, but that’s the joy of football kits and fashion in general: beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Plus, if you’re dismayed that your nation hasn’t fared too well in the standings, then find solace in the fact that they might do better in the away kit rankings or, dare we say, the actual tournament itself.
But until either of those competitions get underway, be sure to let us know which World Cup home shirts are your favourites and least favourites across our various social channels. Let’s discuss.
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