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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

World Cup 2022 kit rankings as every shirt from all 32 teams in Qatar rated and slated

So Qatar 2022 is here, and while plenty of things might be different about this World Cup, one thing shall forever remain the same.

New football shirts have been brought out for it, and we're all going to like looking at them.

There are 64 of those shirts, to be precise, and yet again we've been ranking them in a manner which we promise you will completely agree with, this time taking them in pairs and delivering a double dose of our expert, completely above reproach opinions.

So from Australia to Saudi Arabia, and Senegal to Serbia, here are the shirts that all of the competing nations will be wearing on our screens this winter.

Please let us know how much you think we've got this completely right in the comments section

32. Switzerland

We kick off with a couple of fairly predictable efforts from Switzerland, that is until you come to the slightly weird red box in the middle of the away number.

Puma have become known for trying something different in recent tournaments, and while different can be good... it isn't this time around.

One positive for the Swiss though, their flag is a big plus.

31. Belgium

So this is to be the way that Belgium's Golden Generation bow out. Much like England's in the noughties, it is underwhelming.

There is some odd sleeve stuff going on on both kits, with the home perhaps better suited to an IPL franchise or nailing a treble 20 at Ally Pally, and the away just wanting to be sitting poolside and sipping something out of a coconut.

30. Serbia

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's SRB man! And it's... pretty naff to be honest.

Puma's obsession with putting something massive in the middle of at least one of a nation's shirts has left to this odd offering for Serbia's change kit, which might actually look alright on genuine superhero Aleksandar Mitrovic but will just appear daft on the rest of us.

29. South Korea

Twelve of the 32 nations at this summ... sorry, winter's World Cup have a red home kit, which will inevitably lead to plenty of them sporting their away shirts in Qatar. And if you catch South Korea's explosion in a Seoul paint factory you are not likely to forget it.

Hopefully Nike saved some colours for the rest of the world.

28. Uruguay

The button on the collar is a pleasing feature of the sleek, very traditional Uruguay home shirt and that's fine. It's good to know where we are with one of the more interesting nations to watch at a World Cup, after all.

But the away?

It's another shirt that has fallen victim to Puma's obsession with putting something, anything, massive and distracting in the middle of the shirt, where it will look to grab even more attention once the player's squad number is placed in there.

Like Luis Suarez on Giorgio Chiellini in 2014, it is just all a bit unnecessary to be honest.

27. Croatia

If you're anything like us - and you've got this far so there's every chance you might be - then Croatia's checks are one of the highlights of tournament football for you.

Forget the goals, the fans, the colour, the noise or hourly updates from the England camp to see if the second choice left-back still has that stiff neck, this is where the real action is.

It's all about Luka Modric and the boys strutting about in checks you could set your watch by, as long as you're not bothered about being late for stuff (the World Cup's on so who cares?)

And well, that's what makes these efforts somewhat controversial. Some of the checks are missing.

It all makes for a rather unsettling turn of events, and we might need some time to get over it.

26. Netherlands

Dutch kits at World Cups are always different by their very nature. There aren't many other teams outside of the Ivory Coast and Blackpool who love strutting about in orange after all. And Blackpool haven't qualified for ages.

This one though? Hmmm.

It's a bit of an assault on the eyes, and coupled with the rather dull away number it isn't much to look at.

25. Canada

It's great to have Canada at this World Cup - their first since 1986 and only a second in their history - but their determination not to offend anybody might just have gone a little bit too far with these fairly bland numbers that border on the forgettable, although supply issues meant they were unable to be given a new kit for the tournament.

Okay, maybe more than border. We were trying to be as nice as they are.

24. USA

In a move sure to please the geographers out there (we got you), the USA comes in just below Canada with a couple of shirts that feature a bold badge in the middle that could almost belong to some sort of superhero collective or somewhere that will sell you a banging Philly cheese steak.

The away kit is weird though.

23. Poland

We see you, Poland. Largely because we are fairly certain that we've seen you before.

Robert Lewandowski and the boys will rock up in these shirts for Qatar. Just as they did in several other international tournaments in the recent past, didn't they?

The red away shirt is the pick of the pair but it's hard to escape the notion you're watching a repeat.

22. Costa Rica

We're also in familiar territory with Costa Rica, who you've probably only seen play a handful of times before but each and every time they were wearing one of these kits.

There will be a familiar look to the Central Americans in Qatar, where they are captained by the 37-year-old former Fulham man Bryan Ruiz and have still got ex-Arsenal forward Joel Campbell in attack.

It says here that he's only 30 which must be a blatant lie.

21. Tunisia

It's a rare appearance for Kappa on the world stage and it comes in the form of Tunisia, the only nation sporting the Italian brand at this World Cup.

How long they'll be sporting it for is another thing entirely as they take their place in a difficult group with France and Denmark, but the detailing on the kit might be a nice distraction from any heavy defeats.

20. Ecuador

So there we have it, the closest Scotland have come to this World Cup.

Ecuador will probably be needing their away kit when they play the Dutch in their second match of the group stages, and it takes on a sort of souped up Scotland home vibe to blend in quite nicely with the home shirt.

Yep, we're heading into interesting territory now.

19. Qatar

Our hosts enter the fray with a couple of fairly forgettable kits were it not for the slightly different and interesting shade of red that makes the home kit stand out, and then those sleeves. Ah yes, the sleeves.

Taking inspiration from the country's flag, the sleeves are the redeeming feature here as we get down to the stage where the details matter.

18. Morocco

There's something of a 90s look to these Morocco kits from Puma, who thankfully have got a bit more subtle on The Giant Thing They Want To Put In The Middle Of The Away Kit For Some Reason™ this time around.

It makes for a decent couple of kits, with the green detailing standing out on the home and deeper collar on the away.

17. England

Yeah the away kit is nice. Really nice.

The red number with the smart collar makes you think of Graham Taylor, Carlton Palmer, Jay from the Inbetweeners and a load of lads in shorts singing Sweet Caroline at the cricket, stacking their plastic pint glasses and telling you that they please don't want to be taken home, thank you very much. All good things.

But just as one unfortunate individual will eventually be singled out for blame when the tournament exit comes, so England have been let down by their odd, almost training top -like home shirt for this tournment.

It isn't terrible but it just doesn't seem to inspire (insert your own Gareth Southgate joke or leave this page in disgust now).

16. Ghana

Yes we know it's another big weird thing on a Puma away kit, but we also know you haven't come here for consistency and anyway, in a reversal of fortunes from England, it is the home kit that is making all the running here.

The trim on the sleeves is eye-catching, but not quite as pleasing as the black star - that predominant feature of the Ghana flag - slap bang on the heart. Lovely stuff.

Please let us know how much you think we've got this completely right in the comments section

15. Saudi Arabia

Four-and-a-half years ago (wow we've been doing this nonsense for a long time) it was Nigeria who were crowned as our best kit at the 2018 World Cup, but with no Super Eagles this time the closest we've got to one of their often eye-catching shirts comes in the form of Saudi Arabia away.

It combines with a leaf-inspired home shirt to produce a decent pairing.

14. Wales

There have been differing fortunes for the away kits during Wales' recent adventures at European Championships.

In 2016 the rather brutal black and grey number became known as their 'cursed' shirt as they lost on both occasions they wore it, winning all four in the classic red, while at last summer's Euros they sported their glorious gold away kit for their one and only win over Turkey in the group stages.

Now, in a first World Cup for 64 years, comes this white number with an eye-catching collar, with the away kit certainly the pick of the two strips as Rob Page's side prepare to take on the USA, Iran and England.

The home shirt is okay, and brings into mind several kits of a not-so-successful past, but the it is the away that will look the best with a bucket hat.

13. Senegal

Yep, what's going on the front of that green away kit is an affront to the eyes, but Puma's Senegal home shirt is a stunner and so that's what has elevated this choice.

The green, yellow and red detailing on the front accompanied by the green star in the chevron pattern is working for us, and the collar and sleeves are good too.

12. Australia

There's more than a hint of that aforementioned Wales away kit at the Euros about this Aussie number, which pleasingly comes looking exactly like what you'd expect from an Australia shirt at a World Cup.

The away one might be more than a little bland in comparison but it could be worse.

It could have a massive box on the front of it.

11. Iran

England's opening opponents head to Qatar in this bold, quite different design to pretty much everything else at the tournament, and both kits are nice.

The green detailing running across from the right is a pleasing feature, and then just when you think you're done looking at the shirt a magical leopard in the body appears and stares straight at you.

Chilling.

10. France

It worked for them in Russia four-and-a-half years ago, and France have again gone with a darker shade of blue - or bleu - than we've previously been used to.

In fact, the traditional blue shirt is somewhat conspicuous by its absence at this World Cup, with Italy failing to qualify and others opting to make variations to what we might expect to see.

Is blue finished as a concept? We'll keep an eye out.

9. Germany

We know what you're thinking, because we're thinking it too.

That is a mighty large black stripe in the middle of the Germany kit, but do you know what? It works.

As we often say around here, change can be a good thing, and this home number coupled with the bold red design of the away is certainly on the agreeable side.

8. Brazil

Oh look blue isn't dead, as here it is as the traditional away kit colours of Brazil which have seemingly been flying off the shelves during a period of political intensity which thankfully ended pleasingly.

That yellow home kit is a staple for any World Cup though, and thankfully they seem to have got that golden shade just right here, with the little button on the collar topping it off.

7. Spain

It's a traditional home kit and a different, dreamy away for Spain at this tournament, where Luis Enrique's young squad will hope to emulate the heroes of South Africa 2010.

They'll be doing so in something of a 90s-style home shirt, but it is the away where the action is here, as a wavy design proves a winner in our eyes.

6. Portugal

This is a really nice combination of home and away kits from Portugal, who make use of angles and lines and patterns and other things that we can pretend that we know anything about in order to fill this space. This space that you're looking at right now. On your phone or your laptop.

Good though aren't they? Nice colours.

5. Mexico

The dashing green of Mexico is one of the sights we've grown accustomed to seeing at a World Cup, and a very welcome one it is too.

But for once, you might just be hoping to see their away kit.

Adidas' quite remarkable creation features an Aztec design which hits you right in the cultural significance part of your brain, and it makes for a stunning and unique shirt that should be a hit this winter.

4. Argentina

Another shirt that makes a World Cup, this is a very traditional approach from Argentina because, quite frankly, we'd all be livid if it was anything but.

There's a twist on a classic for the away though, as the usual darker, often navy kit is replaced but this purple number which might be a nod to the famous Harchester United but probably isn't.

3. Japan

It is a stone cold scientific fact that Japan always have nice kits at World Cups, and you can quote us on that. We've been doing this nonsense for years.

Alright the away one might be a little less eye-catching than we've seen in the past, but it the home kit which is the real winner and elevates the Japanese into the top three with another pleasing pattern to follow on from the one in Russia.

2. Cameroon

So for starters the badge is a roaring lion, not like those three fairly timid looking England ones, which is very cool. And then these kits get better from there.

The V-neck collar is good, the diagonal detailing is good, and then the green, red and yellow of the Cameroon flag over the shoulder is what sets these shirts apart.

Le Coq Sportif have played a blinder.

1. Denmark

Okay so we are just a daft, pretty arbitrary ranking of football shirts, you know that. But, despite the many, many disagreements over our order through the years we do still know right from wrong.

Many have just dismissed it as a publicity stunt, but with no-one else seemingly doing anything tangible to drawn attention to the issues surrounding the awarding of this World Cup to Qatar, Denmark and Hummel's silent protest which will be seen around the world is most welcome.

“While we support the Danish national team all the way, this shouldn’t be confused with support for a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives," said Hummel in a statement marking the launch of the kits, with a third all black option also available to the team, aka "the colour of mourning."

Will it achieve much? No. But it'll make people ask questions.

And that's pretty much all a football kit can do.

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