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It’s time to get down to the serious business
Before the first World Cup held in an Arabic country kicks off, we’ve taken an in-depth look at every home and away shirt in the tournament to come up with a decisive winner for our replica Jules Rimet trophy wearing a Nigeria 2018 kit.
First up, group stages A-D, and it’s bad news for the USA, we’re afraid…
To see how South Korea, Portugal and Brazil rank in the kit tournament so far, head to The 2022 World Cup of kits part two: Groups E-H.
Group A
Home: 6/10
Host nation Qatar keeps things fairly simple for its first-ever World Cup home kit. The majority of the shirt arrives in maroon, the same colour as the country’s crest and the majority of its flag. The only detailing is a white pattern around each sleeve, a nod to a similar design that runs across the flag. It’s a solid, if unspectacular, way to begin the World Cup.
Away: 7/10
The away shirt pushes the boat out a little further. Contrasting the maroon, it arrives in an off-white – taken from the other section of the flag – and is finished with an overlapping gold and beige geometric pattern. The pattern helps to elevate the design into something more interesting and is inspired by the Qatari coastline and the national tradition of pearl diving.
Total: 13/20Advertisement
Home: 5/10
Once you get past the novelty of seeing a Marathon-designed kit at the actual World Cup finals, the averageness of Ecuador’s home shirt becomes clear. The bright yellow base is strong, and works well with the navy accenting, but overall it fails to inspire much belief that Ecuador will match their best-ever performance, when they made it to the Round of 16 in 2006.
Away: 8/10
The away kit is a different story, though. The dark navy base is covered with a lighter blue pattern, apparently a nod to the Incan civilisation who once resided in Ecuador. The design is improved with the use of metallic silver for the accenting, and the very-subtle Ecuadorian flag appearing halfway round each sleeve.
Total: 13/20
Home: 6/10
Senegal have a checkered World Cup history, reaching the quarter finals in 2002 and being eliminated due to fair play in 2018. Their 2002 home kit remains one of the all-time best, and this year fails to hit the lofty heights set 20 years ago. The stand-out feature of the white is the huge chevron across the chest, displaying the colours of the Senegalese flag.
Away: 4/10
PUMA have a history for following a template too closely – just think about those 2020/21 third kits – and this year’s World Cup away kits follow a similar formula. For Senegal, that means a green shirt with a darker central stripe, so far so good, is finished by a box featuring SEN on the front.
Total: 10/20
Home: 8/10
The Netherlands have an unfair advantage, with their traditional bright orange being one of the world’s best kit colours. This year, they’ve adorned it with an abstract pattern in a lighter Laser Orange. The two-tone result brings to mind some of the great kits from the Netherlands archive, which they hope will inspire the team to their first-ever World Cup triumph.
Away: 6/10
The away kit is a much safer affair, sticking to the Nike template seen across Europe this season. The base of the shirt is listed as Deep Royal and is finished with black sections around the neck. The stand-out feature, though, is the use of Habanero Red for a hit of colour around each sleeve. It just about manages to save the kit from being plain boring.
Total: 14/20