English
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Русский
Español
Like Carhartt dudes who’ve never handled a power drill, many soccer-shirt enthusiasts can hardly juggle a ball. No matter. By now, soccer shirts are fully fashion. If you peruse the various kits for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which starts in June across North America, you’ll see more and more jerseys that could pass for streetwear. But let’s not lose sight of a soccer shirt’s true purpose—to adorn the backs of the world’s best footballers in a quest for that sexy little gold trophy.
This year’s field has expanded from 32 to 48 teams, which meant surveying nearly 100 different soccer shirts, home and away, to make this list. (Yes, I looked at every single one.) The criteria for the shirt ranking? Nothing scientific. I considered how these shirts might look both on the pitch and on the sidewalk—so anything overly plain (see: Greece home) or overly ornate (see: Korea away) didn’t make the cut. To me, the best shirts serve both functions equally well.
Here are my picks for the Top 10 2026 World Cup Jerseys, Ranked.
Maker: Adidas
In their qualifying run, Curaçao wore the most generic of Adidas templates—maybe befitting a nation with fewer people than Kansas City. But then, improbably, they made the World Cup. And now Curaçao has bespoke shirts to commemorate being the smallest country to ever qualify. The away shirt pays tribute to the bright colors of the Caribbean island’s buildings. Everything pops.
Maker: Puma
I’m admittedly a sucker for the bright orange that is the base color for Les Éléphants. This year’s home shirt—with an all-over tonal pattern—is their best since the Didier Drogba era. It’s part of a strong Puma collection for the World Cup after the miserable boxed-number kits of 2022.
Maker: Jordan
The Jumpman’s first-ever appearance on a national team kit was originally meant to be on a red Brazil kit, but Jordan reportedly changed course after negative online reaction to the color switch. The final blue-and-black shirt, mimicking the colors of a poison dart frog, is a little dark for my liking, but the accent colors complement it well. Overall, it’s an interesting, memorable look.
Maker: Adidas
It’s in the details for South Africa’s away shirt—the gold shoulder stripes, the two-tone collar, the vertical geometric pattern, and the triple logos (Trefoil, S.A. Football Association, and the Protea flower badge) across the chest. Plus green and gold is such an aesthetically pleasing color combo.
Maker: Puma
Morocco’s home shirt was a strong contender for this list, but I prefer the away. It’s one of those shirts that feels like an instant classic. The red and green of the Moroccan flag appear around the neck of the jersey, with a traditional pattern in gold running down the center. The detail is subtle enough to not be overbearing yet not so understated that you won’t be able to make it out on TV.
Maker: Adidas
This is the shirt you’ll see in the very first match of the World Cup, when co-host Mexico takes on South Africa at the Estadio Azteca on June 11. It’s an obvious homage to the iconic 1998 ABA home shirt, minus the white collar, with a modernized (worse) badge. It also features a less-menacing Aztec-inspired graphic. Overall, it’s a downgrade from the source material. But it’s still badass.
Maker: Adidas
It’s hard to mess up the Argentina home shirt, but Adidas has made some clunkers. Not this year. The defending champs will be sporting a familiar look, with a cool twist: The blue stripes feature a gradient effect that incorporates the three shades of blue from its three previous World Cup titles—’78, ’86, and ’22. This is probably Lionel Messi’s last World Cup shirt, so there’s that, too.
Maker: Adidas
The official Adidas description for Japan’s away shirt says that it “celebrates the bond between team, supporters, and culture.” Eleven of the 12 colored vertical stripes pay tribute to the players, with the central red stripe representing “the Japanese soccer family.” Sure, whatever. It’s an undeniably beautiful shirt regardless of its meaning, at once elegant and striking.
Maker: Nike
Ever since Nike outbid Adidas for Les Bleus in 2011, it has clearly prioritized Les Bleus for original design. With all of France’s ’26 group games in the USA, the home and away shirts pay homage to the Statue of Liberty. Both jerseys are great, but I’ll take the collared home shirt with the “FFF” pattern and the copper accents, matching the color of the original Lady Liberty. The polo-style shirt opens to reveal a hidden red placket. Chapeau.
Read the full article here
