When the 2014 World Cup in
Brazil kicks off on June 12, we'll be treated to one month of the world's best
and most exciting football. But sports nerds of a certain stripe are also in
for an added bonus: World Cup uniforms ("kits" in football parlance), which
by many estimations represent the coolest gear the entire sports world has to offer.
The World Cup of style is dominated by football’s
big-boy brands: Nike sponsors
10 of the World Cup's 32 teams; Adidas sponsors
nine; Puma sponsors eight; Burrda, Marathon, Uhlsport, Joma and Lotto sponsor
one apiece. But each company is busting out the best it has to offer for the
millions of football fans (and apparel consumers) who will tune into the World
Cup from points around the globe this summer.
We've
been nerding out over World Cup kits all spring, so now it's time to gather
them all together in one place. What follows is our very unscientific ranking
of all 32 outfits (Okay, 31; Bosnia and Herzegovina isn't expected to
officially release its duds until early June) as done by Mashable.com. We've ordered them from here
from snazziest to meh-iest.
Check
them out, and then tell me in the comments section below.
which are your favourites and what position you think Nigeria's kit should have been ranked.
which are your favourites and what position you think Nigeria's kit should have been ranked.
1. Brazil
When Brazil looks to win its sixth World Cup on its
home soil this summer, it'll do so in the utmost style. The yellow and blue
numbers above stick close to the blueprint for the Seleção's respective
home and away kits. Meanwhile, the dark green alternate jersey provides a nice
change of pace, right down those subtly striped shorts. To mix our sports
metaphors, Brazil (with some help from Nike) knocks it out of the park. Final
score: 10/10
2. Spain
Adidas does a top-notch job of balancing
tradition with innovation. The red home numbers reflect the look you expect
from Spain, while the away versions offer something else entirely: A black base
with neon green trim. Not every nation could pull this off, but the look fits
perfectly with Spain's stacked squad of fearsome attackers and creative
ball-handlers. Final score 9.6/10
3. Portugal
Another excellent study in contrasts.
Portugal's red home kit is all fire and strength, while the away kit features a
clean blue and white look. The Portuguese Football Federation's excellent
patch, meanwhile, is a welcome addition to any shirt. Final
score: 9.5/10
4. Italy
Italy has one of the game's classic kits,
year in and year out. Puma does that heritage justice here, with two equally
excellent outfits. From the tiny collar on the blue home shirt to the light grey
pinstripes on the white away kit, little details make a difference. Final
score: 9.4/10
5. Germany
Another great contrasting look. The white
home kit is clean, simple and traditional, while the away kit's deep red and
black stripes give the attacking German squad some fearsome style. Final
score: 9.2/10
6. Argentina
Argentina's vertically striped home kits are
among the most iconic in soccer. Adidas does good job of not messing with
tradition here, while the Albiceleste's darker away
duds look sharp too. Final score: 9.1/10
7. Netherlands
The Netherlands signature orange home shirts
and excellent lion crest give Nike plenty to work with here. But it's the
subtle designs on the blue away kit that really win us over. Final
score: 9/10
8. Mexico
Adidas does El Tri justice here with a killer green home kit (moving the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación's
crest to the middle of the shirt is a nice touch). The blood-red away kits
should look awesome in Brazil as well. Final score: 8.8/10
9. France
Less is more with France's 2014 kits from
Nike. The blue home kit is classic and timeless, while horizontal grey striping
takes the white away shirt to another level. Final score: 8.7/10
10. Cameroon
Puma pulled out all the stops for Cameroon's
green home jersey. The relief designs, vivid colouring and traditional lion
crest (the squad's amazing nickname is the Indomitable Lions) add up to a
classic. That gold away number isn't shabby either. Final
score: 8.5/10.
11. Japan
Another excellent balancing act between
tradition and boldness. Japan's blue home kits don't contain any huge surprises,
but that neon away kit is something else entirely. Both look mighty fine,
however. Final score: 8.4/10
12. England
Nike goes for a classic look on both
England's home and away kits. Neither takes any real risks, but they both look
pretty sweet. That yellow goalie shirt isn't bad either. Final
score: 8.2/10
13. Croatia
Those checkers! We have a feeling you'll
either love or hate Croatia's unique national team kits, but we are definitely
in the pro-check camp. The red and white checks look even better when used as
trim on Croatia's blue away shirts. Final score: 8/10
14. Belgium
Belgium's three looks offer plenty of variety but
it's the big crown in-lay that goes a long way for us. Final score:
7.8/10
15. Cote D'Ivoire
Puma deserves credit for letting the Ivory
Coast's lovely green and orange colours do the heavy lifting here. The
country's elephant crest is also among the coolest in soccer. Final
score: 7.6/10
16. Ghana
Ghana's red away kits are sharp, but it's the
creative trim around the collar of the home whites that will have the Black
Stars looking extra-super in Brazil. Final score: 7.4/10
17. Greece
Nike stuck to simplicity for Greece, and the
result is a smooth look. Then again, that simplicity doesn't offer anything far
out of the ordinary, landing these uniforms in the middle of our power
rankings. Final score: 7.2/10
18. United States
When Nike unveiled the multi-coloured USA
away kits this spring, many snarkily denigrated them for looking like a summer
popsicle. We think they look mighty fine -- but those home white jerseys look
too much like something you'd see at a Florida retirement village. Final
score: 7/10
19. Russia
Not bad, but far from transcendent. The white
away kits do feature a unique design that we like. Final
score: 6.7/10
20. Australia
Points for simplicity -- but not too many
points. Final score: 6.6/10
21. Switzerland
These are ... fine. Final score: 6.3/10
22. Uruguay
The blue-on-black home kits are kind of
sweet, but this is the World Cup -- we're looking for greatness, not goodness. Final
score: 6.2/10
23. Colombia
Again, good but not great (in our humble opinion, of
course). Final score: 6/10
24. Algeria
Some nice touches -- the crescent moon and
light green color give a good starting point -- but, overall, not a lot going
on. Final score: 5.8/10
25. Chile
Chile is an interesting dark-horse contender
in Brazil, but its uniforms won't be generating a ton of buzz. We do like the
red home kit's blue collar though. Final score: 5.7/10
26. Costa Rica
Ehhhh, these are okay. Final score: 5.6/10
27. Ecuador
They definitely don't suck. But they
definitely aren't that memorable, either. Final score: 5.5/10
28. Nigeria
Nigeria's green and white flag offers a rich
starting point, but we wish there was more going on here. Final
score: 5.4
29. Honduras
Cool T-shirt? Yes. Cool World Cup jersey? Less so. Final
score: 5.3/10
30. South Korea
Pretty pedestrian, plus those
differently-colored shoulder stripes on the white away kits look a little odd. Final
score: 5.1/10
31. Iran
That's a cool in-lay, but these are otherwise pretty meh. Final
score: 5/10
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