Every team needs a great a kit, and international football is absolutely no different in that regard.
It was no easy task whittling down the greatest international kits to the very best, but we're satisfied that we've managed it...
Let's get straight down to business, shall we? Click any of the arrows on the right to start the countdown!
When is a football shirt not a football shirt? When it’s Cameroon’s infamous vest, of course.
The Indomitable Lions won the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations without sleeves and wanted to rock the same ‘fit at that year’s World Cup, too – but those spoilsports at FIFA outlawed it, meaning Samuel Eto’o and co. had to don ‘shirts’ which were really just the vests with black sleeves sewn on.
If you’re going to play in white, you’re going to have to get creative to jazz your kits up – and Ghana’s Puma shirt for the 2006 World Cup was far from plain.
Featuring black stars – a nod to the team’s nickname’ – woven into the fabric, this jersey was apt for the country’s debut at the biggest tournament of them all.
Spain reached the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup in style – by wearing this seriously snazzy strip.
Rather than put them in their usual positions down the sleeves, Adidas mixed things up with their famous three stripes and had them running down one side of the shirt and the other side of the shorts – in a distinctive diamond pattern.
Seven years after Russia had annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea, Ukraine used their Euro 2020 kit to remind the world who they believed it rightfully belonged to.
Across the centre of the shirts was a map of the Eastern European nation – including Crimea, much to the chagrin of the Russians.
Another fine example of how to make white rock, Portugal’s away shirt for Euro 2012 was the best of the tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his colleagues looked quite majestic in these threads dominated by a stylised cross in the colours of the Portuguese flag, almost reaching the final – only losing to eventual winners Spain on penalties in the semis.
South Korea’s unique coral red makes them one of the most instantly recognisable national teams on the planet – and the Taegeuk Warriors produced a miraculous run to the last four of the 2002 World Cup, which they co-hosted with Japan, with this beautiful Nike effort as their first-choice kit.
The collar and the Spirograph-like pattern on the shirt ensured it of a place in history, just like the Guus Hiddink-managed team who played in it.
There’s probably not a more distinctive kit design in international football than Croatia’s instantly iconic red and white checkerboard.
It’s seen a fair few variations over the years, but none of them have looked better than this version resembling a waiving flag, worn by Luka Modric et al en route to the last 16 of Euro 2016.
France unveiled two stunning Nike kits ahead of Euro 2024, and this striped away design is the most jaw-dropping of the pair.
Blue pinstripes transition to red across the shirt, and the same pattern is repeated in white and red on the shorts – and get a load of that great big coq gaulois (Gallic rooster, the national symbol of France).
Japan have had some truly spectacular shirts, but this one – which is more than a bit reminiscent of Hokusai’s legendary ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ woodblock print – is a clear standout.
The Samurai Blue wore it during their qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup but replaced it for the tournament itself – where, ironically, they made waves by beating Germany and Spain in the group stage.
Finland marked their major tournament debut at Euro 2020 with the best kit of the tournament, a slick Nike effort taking clear inspiration from the Nordic nation’s flag.
Unlike on the flag, the blue of the cross here graduates from a royal-ish blue into a very deep one – to stunning effect.
Daffodils, sheep, Tom Jones… The Welsh national team have plenty of national symbols to choose from. Fortunately, their last home strip of the 70s (seemingly) paid homage to the former.
Those curved side stripes which continue right down the shorts; that centred badge; the beefy collar with two Admiral logos on it… What a kit.
Possibly the best Puma kit ever made, Italy’s 2019 third strip was a special edition commemorating the country’s proud history of producing top young talent.
This might be the most beautiful shade of green we’ve ever seen – and you could get lost for hours in the intricate, Renaissance period-inspired pattern which runs throughout.
Adidas’ mid-90s diamonds template must go down as one of the most iconic in the history of the game, and suited Germany’s kits for the 1994 World Cup and 1995 Women’s World Cup perfectly.
After the men were knocked out by Bulgaria in the quarter-finals of the former tournament, the women finished as runners-up at the latter.
Pre-match at their home World Cup of 1994, the USA players lined up to sing their national anthem, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’; during the match, they regularly wore this star-adorned shirt.
It just screams ‘AMERICA!’, doesn’t it? And it’s become one of the most sought-after jerseys in the decades since that tournament.
The shirt alone could have passed for a nod to the Smurfs, but Belgium’s Euro 2024 away kit is quite a deliberate homage to another of the country’s most famous cartoon outputs: Tintin.
Herge’s intrepid reporter is synonymous with a blue jumper and brown bottoms – and Kevin De Bruyne would look uncannily like him in this strip if were to opt for a quiff.
Brazil have never gone wrong with a home kit – yellow shirt, blue shorts, and green trim – but they got it very right in the early 70s.
Pele and his fellow icons won the 1970 World Cup in this timeless number manufactured by Athleta – back in the day before brand started slapping their logos on strips.
Norway can be seriously cold (the far north of the country sits inside the Arctic Circle), and their national team made sure no one could forget that with their first away strip of the 2020s.
An, er, ice-cool design from Nike which is somehow simultaneously white and blue, it’s one of the most unique we’ve ever seen.
Resplendent in its plain simplicity, the red shirts (all long-sleeved, of course) in which England’s heroes of ‘66 lifted the World Cup remain some of the most utterly iconic ever worn.
And the most famous of the lot was captain Bobby Moore’s number six jersey – replicas of which still fly off the rails to this day.
It may have had Adidas’ legendary trefoil logo on it, but we have our suspicions that one of the Belgium players’ nans knitted the country’s home shirt for the 1984 European Championship.
That chest pattern is quite something, and it proved popular enough for the Red Devils to rehash it for their 2018 World Cup kit.
Colombia’s 2018 World Cup home shirt was a clear homage to the South American nation’s jerseys from Italia ’90 – and somehow, it came out even better than the original.
If this isn’t the perfect shade of yellow, we don’t know what is – and those diagonal red and blue stripes (which contain even more stripes within them!) are slightly hypnotic. A beaut of a strip.
Peru have only made it to four World Cups, but they’ve been absolutely unmistakable on each occasion thanks to their glorious sashed kit (white with a red sash at home, red with a white sash on the road).
Adidas were the suppliers back in 1978, when the great Teofilo Cubillas and his teammates crashed out in the group stage without scoring a goal – but looked seriously stylish.
The 1982 World Cup wasn’t the most memorable for England – Ron Greenwood’s Three Lions went out in the second group stage – but the kit they wore was.
A retro favourite, the home shirt’s thick horizontal stripes make it just about the least plain England have ever had – and its red away equivalent was pretty nice, too!
Captained by the inimitable Johan Cruyff, the Netherlands made it to their first of successive World Cup finals in 1974, narrowly losing to arch-rivals and hosts West Germany at the last hurdle.
And their orange and black kit has gone down in history, thanks largely to Cruyff having one of Adidas’ three stripes removed from each sleeve of his shirt in order to honour his own deal with rival brand Puma.
You’ve probably never heard of ABA Sport – but you’ve probably seen Mexico’s home shirt from the 1998 World Cup before. Just look at this masterpiece.
Even better: the Aztec-inspired design was replicated across El Tri’s white away black third strips. For once, goalkeeper Jorge Campos – famously fond of a blindingly garish kit – was upstaged by his outfield teammates.
What could be more Scottish than a tartan football shirt? Ok, lots of things now we think about it, but there’s no taking away from the sheer Scottish-ness of this strip.
As with every major tournament up until then, the Scots failed to make it out of their group at Euro 96, but at least they had the best kit of the finals.
Shirts that hardly worn automatically gain a certain mythical status – and that’s only strengthened when they’re as breathtaking as England’s third top from the beginning of the 90s.
The Three Lions stepped out in these threads just once – for a Euro 92 qualifier against Turkey, in which Dennis Wise scored the only goal – and that’s part of the reason why an original will set you back several hundred pounds, if not even more.
As one of the few national teams who play in stripes, Argentina are always going to stand out, and they’ve never looked better than they did en route to winning the 1986 World Cup.
Yes, skipper Diego Maradona made himself a hate figure in England by doing his ‘Hand of God’ in the quarter-finals – but Argentina were in their plain blue away kit for that game, so this slick stunner of a strip didn’t have its legacy tainted.
If you’re going to incorporate the national flag into your shirt, you might as well have fun with it – and West Germany’s last home jersey before German reunification is a prime example of how brilliant the results can be.
Donned by the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Voller as they won the 1990 World Cup, it’s been an absolute classic since day one.
At Euro 1984, hosts France finally got their hands on their first major trophy, inspired all the way by captain Michel Platini – who’s naturally the first player we think of when we see this shirt.
Featuring one chunky red stripe and three thinner white stripes across the body, it’s topped off spectacularly by the detail of the French tricolour flag incorporated into the customary Adidas sleeve branding.
One of the best-selling shirts of all time, this is what Nigeria wore at the 2018 World Cup – which they would have won at a canter were the trophy awarded solely based upon sartorial resplendence.
An all-time great design from Nike, this was sensational proof that football kits could be fashion statements well beyond the pitch.
Hummel is easily one of the coolest football kit manufacturers around – and that’s in no small part down to this undeniably gorgeous Denmark shirt.
Worn by the likes of Michael Laudrup and Allan Simonsen at the 1986 World Cup, it’s plain and stripey all at once – and it’s served as the template for many shirts since.
Never has a team been dressed as stylishly when winning a major tournament as the Netherlands in 1988 – when, at long last, they got their hands on major silverware as Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and co. ensured glory at Euro 88.
The brilliance of this shirt speaks for itself, and it’s little wonder that originals sell for veritably silly money these days.
