World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 3

48 games….. 8 completed groups…. 32 teams and 62 kits used….!!

We have reached the end of the Group Stage with the final rounds completed and the biggest take away for me in this, is that 30 of 32 teams have worn both their kits.  There has been some interesting choices in using the “Second” choice kits for clashes and in some cases both team turning to their “Second” kits when there would have no real clash in using their “First” choice kits, FIFA or Manufacturer’s marketing their products, we will probably never know.

Kits used for the first time in the Competition in this round:

• Russia, Second kit
• Spain, First kit
• Morocco, Second kit
• France, Second kit
• Peru, Second kit
• Germany, Second kit

I want to call out the Germany kit here, this kit really is magnificent and for me one of the best kits seen produced in the recent years and unfortunately due to the team’s performance at this World Cup will always be remembered as the kit that was worn when they were knocked out the Competition

We are still yet to see the full Colombia first choice kit, both appearances of the shirt have been matched with white shorts and socks, a surprising choice as not sure the blue shorts/red socks would have clashed too much with the all green kit of Senegal.

Japan and Poland meet in their final Group games, a game that saw the only two teams to wear their “First” choice shirts for all three games in the group, however Poland did use white shorts, to create an all white kit which was a variation from their home kit, leaving Japan on their own as the only team to use one full kit for the Group Stage.

Round 3 kit highlights:

• Germany’s kit, a thing of beauty that will now be remember for the wrong reasons
• Japan wearing the full kit for all three games, only team to do so.
• Finding out that teams have to nominate bib colours as well each game

My favourite kit of the round is the Germany kit.

To see my look at the previous games in the Group Stage check these posts out…

World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 1

World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 2

World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 2

In what seems to be a flash of the eye we have reached the end of round 2 of the group games in the 2018 World Cup is over, no more 3 games spread over the day!

Looking at the kits used, the biggest thing that stands out for me is 24 out of the 32 teams have worn both there kits and there has been question as to reason that Countries have made these changes, especially as in the past the same teams have met and been able to wear their first choice kits.  Is this also a marketing ploy by kit manufacturers to maximise sales of kits or stricter FIFA ruling in terms of kit usage or maybe a combination of both….

Russia’s socks were changed from the first game, on of my highlights of the first round of games (World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 1) this was reported due to the top of the sock would clash with Egypt’s socks.  Another team that used their “First” choice kit for a second time with a variation was France, who wore a striking combination against Peru, with the dark blue shorts combined with the dark blue shirt and red socks for one of the complete kit highlights of the tournament so far for me.

Nigeria used their much talked about “first” choice kit, this really is something completely new and I think the reason why it works so well and looks great in action. I also really like the Sweden “second” choice kit, the rich blue and yellow complimented each other perfectly and really stood out as a great kit.

The highlight of these games for me was Mexico’s kit, a stunning kit, the deeper shades of Red and Green used in a classic style and design not often seen with the two horizontal stripes on the shirt, just stands out as a class kit.

My final highlight is Colombia, that stunning blue kit based from the kit worn by many teams in 90s but interestingly not Colombia as far as I can tell, match with the bright orange trim, orange tonal badge, throw in the sea of yellow, blue and red in the crowd it just looks amazing all round and then David Ospina’s goalkeeper kit which is a call back to the Rene Higuita’s kit, a black kit with purple, green detailing and pink tonal badge…. Colombia creating a festival of colour!

Round 2 Kit Highlights:

• France’s variation of “first” choice kit against Peru
• Mexico’s kit… stunning!
• Sweden in Blue
• Colombia and all the colours….!

I am going to split my favourite kit of this round of game between two… including a goalkeeper kit… Mexico and the Colombian Goalkeeper kit.

And so on to Round 3 of group games….!

World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 1

The World Cup is well and truly underway, we have now seen each of the 32 teams take to the field, so time to review the kits worn so far by each of the teams.

I am still not 100% sure whether the “Home” and “Away” kit labels are completely correct when it comes to International Tournaments, I think for the time being I will refer to them as “First” and “Second” choice kits.

A few stats….

For the total of 32 kit appearances, we have seen “First” Kits (and variations) used 66% and “Second” kits (and variations) used 34% of the time.

First Choice – 15

First Choice variations – 6 (Egypt, France, Denmark, Croatia, Costa Rica, Colombia)

Second Choice – 8

Second Choice variations – 3 (Uruguay, Argentina, England) 

It is nice to see some of these kits finally in action, the Adidas kits have stood out to me, in particular the Argentina kit and the Mexico kit, I also want to call out the Iceland kit here as well, whether it was the contrast with the black Argentinian kit or the bright white kit on a summer’s day but it really seemed to work, coupled with a goalkeeper kit that is of the same template in red, the package just works for me….. well played Errea.

England went for an all red kit, the first time they have worn an away kit (which also was all red) at a World Cup since 2010, to be fair that was only three games! I thought this looked great, the red shorts and in particular the red tonal badge and Nike “swoosh”, really worked and gave the kit a more modern balance in terms of colour.

Overall kit highlights for me…

• Russia’s socks
• Argentina v Iceland…. (maybe the new Scotland v Denmark in Mexico 86 for World Cup kit match up perfection… I have gone too far, I know)
• Mexico’s kit
• England all in red

For me, my favourite kit on show so far, is this combination of “Second” choice shirt and socks, with “First” choice away shorts from Argentina

Round 1 of games is now complete, what are your favourite kits on show and will we see more variations of kits through out round 2 of games.

England Kits at World Cups

2018 World Cup fever is just starting to ramp up, I though the time would be right to look at some of the kits worn in previous tournaments by the Three Lions.

England’s first World Cup was in 1950 hosted by Brazil and where they played only the three group games with the second of these games being famous for a defeat from the USA, wearing second kit at the time which was royal blue (the first of only two times that England would wear blue shirts at World Cups.

In 1954 England only played group games with very little change to kit, the only variation from the normal “home” kit was in the third game of 1954 where red socks were used instead of regular blue socks and by the team the 1958 tournament came around, red socks were part of the standard kit, however in 1958 a play off game against the Soviet Union was needed to determine who would progress from the group.

In 1962 was the same shirt as 1958 but for the first time paired with navy blue shorts and white socks and as an alternative all white. This World Cup was also the first time that England wore red, with an all red strip worn in the third group game against Bulgaria.

1966…… well the pinnacle of performance at World Cups on the pitch and many argue the pinnacle of kits too.  The iconic kit that was also used in 1970, England wore their “home” kit in all games (with all white combo in Quarter Final match up with Argentina) and of course famously wore their Red Shirts, White Shorts, Red Socks combination in the final against West Germany.

Moving on to 1970, again the holders wore the same kit as the previous tournament but this one had a subtle difference with an Airtex (little holes) in the kit to help the temperature and humidity at Mexico, there was also a third kit used (for the one and only time as a full kit) which was Sky Blue.

England failed to qualify for next to tournaments, so the next time they would appear was in 1982, the kit landscape was starting to change at this point (see my review of the kits worn in Spain 82 here.  Admiral were now the supplier and produced one of the all time classic kits in terms of design for the tournament. With both red and white shirts worn, this really proved a hit with fans and one that will often be seen in crowds now at England games.

1986 saw a quick return for the Three Lions to Mexico, again a special kit was created by Umbro which was designed to combat the conditions.  England only used their “home” shirts here, however in the quarter final against Argentina, this shirt was combined with the third kit’s sky blue shorts and socks for a unique combination never to be seen again. (for a full Mexico 86 review click here.

In Italia 90, again another tournament fondly remembered by England fans, they only used their home kit (in 7 games, the most games played by England in a single tournament), having registered both away and third kits for the tournament. (Kit Log – World Cup, USA 1994)

After missing USA 94, England next qualified for France 98, with classic mid 90s design from Umbro, wearing both home and away kits within their group and then using an all white kit in the game against Argentina in the first knock out round, this was the first time England had worn all white at a World Cup since 1970. (Kit Log – World Cup, France 1998)

2002, the first (and so far only) tournament to be co-hosted, Umbro introduced a red stripe down the home one side of the home shirt. The away kit is also worth a mention as it was marketed at the time to be a reversible shirt with a Navy Blue “training / leisure” shirt on the inside for the replica kits, I am going to assume that the player version were missing this feature of the shirt. (Kit Log – World Cup, Korea/Japan 2002)

2006, again saw red play a feature on the home shirt, this time in the form of a cross on the shoulder, the away kit only made one appearance and there was an element of gold in this kit, with gold fonts and numbers used as part of the kit.

2010, saw Umbro produce a kit that brilliant in its simplicity, a change saw the “home” kit become all white for the first time and was the flagship kit for the “Tailored by Umbro” range, the kit was paired with an equally elegant red away kit and although was initially partnered with white shorts but was used as an all red alternative through the tournament.

Finally this review brings us to 2014 tournament in Brazil, one where FIFA introduced single colour kits for all teams (apart from those that stripes, etc…. and Brazil)…. England’s kits for the first time were made by Nike at World Cup tournaments, and their all white home kit had a subtle pinstripe and a royal blue “tick” and badges, this was the only kit worn at the tournament.

For Russia 2018, England are returning to more traditional colours with navy blue shorts for the home and return of a red away kit with white shorts, red socks combination.

Any favourites or thoughts on England’s World Cup kit history?

Kit Log – World Cup, Korea/Japan 2002

For the first time in the competition’s history the World Cup moved away from Europe and Americas and was held on Asian Continent, the 17th Tournament hosted by both South Korea and Japan, which also was another first with a jointly hosted competition.  Following from France 98, the format remained the same and gave us 32 teams competing in 8 groups of 4 teams, followed by knock out stage of the competition, totaling in 64 games.

In terms of the kits seen in the tournament, there was a real identity per manufacture, I do not want to use the word template as there were some subtle differences with the shirts that made them a little for unique than a standard template, in particular with those Nations that had Nike kits in 2002.

Looking at the manufacturers, again as in France 98 there was 12 manufacturers on show at the tournament, Adidas leading the way once more but there was an increase in the number of teams wearing the three stripes, with 10 from the 6 from four years earlier.  Nike had 8 representative and Puma 4, so the “Big 3” making up nearly 70% of the nations appearing.  There were some notable manufacturers in the rest of the kit suppliers, Kappa, Hummel, Le Coq Sportif, Joma, Umbro (who supplied England and Ireland) and Uhlsport.  There were some lesser known names in Marathon, L.Sporto and Athletica, supplying some of the Central and South American Nations.

It was certainly a bright World Cup in terms of colours, Nike’s Nigeria and South Korea kits were reminiscent of highlighter pens, in particular the Nigerian Kit which in the first game was paired with white numbers and names, which proved not to be that visible to watching millions and was quickly replaced by black alternatives for the rest of the competition.

Almost all Nations had a splash of colour or detailing on their shirts, one notable exception to this was Italy, whose Kappa kit stood out as a classic Italian Shirt, a lighter shade of blue used, a balance in the first and second choice kits topped off with a more tighter cut than other kits used – certainly not a kit with those with kind of build that I have.

Another kit to call out and look into a little more detail is Cameroon’s kit, here they (or Puma) looked to do something different and never seen before, to combat the heat and humidity they proposed a sleeveless kit and in fact used a sleeveless version of the kit they wore prior to the tournament, however FIFA did not allow this kit to be worn in the actual tournament and black sleeves were added to both the first and second choice shirts.  Cameroon would try to break kit boundaries two years later with an all in one kit.

Eventual winners Brazil, wore their traditional yellow shirt with three different combinations of shorts and socks, the classic blue shorts and white socks against Chine and Turkey (twice, group and semi-final), white shorts and blue socks against Costa Rica and blue shorts and blue socks in the final against Germany, a rarely seen variation of the kit which will go down in history as it was the one worn to lift the trophy for a record 5th time.

Feel free to share your kit highlights from 2002 World Cup.

Kit Log – World Cup, France 1998

The 16th World Cup headed back to Europe and returned to France after they held the 1938 tournament.  This was an expanded competition from the previous three World Cups and was the first to follow the format that is now well established which meant an increase in qualifying teams from 24 to 32 teams, resulting in eight groups of four teams, with the top two teams moving on to the knock out stages, giving us a total of 64 games that were played between 10th June 1998 and 12th July 1998.

Looking at the kits, there was again a leap from USA 94 in terms of style and colours on show from each country.  Several countries added detail to their kits that had not been seen before on, Mexico, Japan, South Africa are all countries that spring to mind with added flashes of colour and detail.

Looking at the manufacturers, there was greater mix of supplier in this competition with 12 different manufacturers taking to the field, leading the way were Adidas wore kitted out 6 teams, a huge reduction from Italia 90 where they supplied 15 out 24 teams and new comers to International football, Nike.

The US brand’s poster boys for the tournament where holders Brazil.  Kit manufacturers using football to promote their products was about to take off….. literally, remember the advert at the Airport, if you do you’ll have that song now in your head for rest of the day.

Overall there was a real blend of template style kits, Adidas with Romania, Yugoslavia, Spain and Puma with Cameroon, Austria, Bulgaria and bespoke designs with Japan, Mexico, Denmark.

A special mention here has to go to Kappa for France 98, they supplied two teams, South Africa and Jamaica, the kits they produced where both unique and stood out from the rest, especially the Reggae Boys, a magnificent kit and one that I cannot do any justice with my simply illustrations.

Another “highlight” worth mentioning is something that Romania did, with most of the team bleaching their hair blonde, whether it was as part of a team unity exercise or as the late great Jimmy Hill surmised maybe would improve picking out a team-mate at quick glance (lets got with that, then it can be kit related, kinda).

England returned to the traditional red away kit for the tournament, it only made one appearance against Colombia but after the controversial “Indigo” away kit of Euro 96 (which I still believe to be a classic England kit) was also the kit that saw one David Beckham score his first goal for England.  In the knock-out round against Argentina, England wore an all white kit, which was a rare sight for England in the 1990’s but one that will be remembered due to one of the goals of tournament being scored by Michael Owen.

Eventual winners France, returned to a classic style and one that has been repeated several times over the years since they won 1984 European Championships in their iconic design.  It is a classic design that is synonymous with the French team and one that I am sure we will see again in the future.

Any kit highlights from France 1998, let me know?

 

 

Kit Log – World Cup, USA 1994

With an explosion and colour and design The 1994 World Cup rolled into new territory and into a new market when 15th Tournament headed off to the USA!

For the third time the tournament format remained unchanged which meant between 17th June and 17th July 1994 there were 24 teams taking part, split into six groups of four teams, followed by the knock out stage of competition to give us a total of 52 games to look at.

In terms of kits there was a leap from the 1990 World Cup in terms of designs, almost all kits had some form of added splashes of colour (for example, the Adidas three strips in Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania), design element (seen with Nigeria, South Korea, Morocco) and even the plain kits had elements of water mark contained within the shirt (think Netherlands, Italy, Brazil).

In terms of manufacturers, Adidas again led the way supplying the most teams playing but their number declined from 1990 World Cup where they had 15 countries in their ranks, this time round they had 10 countries.  Umbro appear next on the list supplying 4 countries, all from Central and South America, something of surprise with a brand that is historically linked with the Home Nations. Other brands such as Lotto, Diadora, Reebok, Mitre also graced the field but there were significant absentees from the manufacturers that we see today in Puma and Nike, who where to enter the market in big way after this tournament.

We need to talk about Adidas, wow…. in my opinion some of their greatest designs appeared at USA 94 and none more-so than the hosts themselves.  USA’s classic “Stars” and “Stripes” kits, which I think should be discussed as a pair, as they were seamlessly interchangeable with their respective shorts and socks, any combination which they took to the pitch just worked beautifully, in their 4 games they used 3 different combinations of kit, a true World Cup classic kit up there with Denmark in 1986 – click here for that tournament’s kit log

Other classic kits seen from Adidas were Nigeria’s second choice kit, a unique design and something that is now the inspiration behind their 2018 World Cup Kit, one of the best we have seen so far this year.  Ireland also had unique designs from Adidas and I believe these kits, particularly the away kit being underrated as one of the best away kits Ireland have had, they were also short lived designs with Ireland moving across to Umbro shortly after the conclusion of the World Cup.

Adidas also introduced some template designs which at the time I did not like but have grown on me over the years, particularly Sweden’s away kit and Argentina’s away kit, although when I think of that kit I have an image of Maradona screaming into the camera after scoring (the less said about that the better).

There was some unusual sights in both Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals, where there games with both teams wearing the “away” strips, Netherlands v Brazil, Romania v Sweden and Sweden v Brazil, a common theme of yellow there but after looking into the reason behind this, there is no clear reason why this choice was made, if anyone has any thoughts or ideas about this please let me know.

Eventual winners, Umbro wearing Brazil wore they home kit 4 times including the final and away 3 times, where they combined the away shirt and socks with home shorts to give us a smart all blue (although slightly different shades blue, ahead of their time?) variation.

Kit Log – World Cup, Italia 90

Italia 90… the birth of modern football and Adidas Designs start breaking the mould….

The World Cup parade returned to Europe in 1990 with Italy hosting for second time after the 1934 tournament.  The 14th World Cup was held between 8th June and 8th July within 12 host cities. the format was the same as previous World Cup in Mexico, see my Kit Log for that edition here – Mexico 1986

So we see 24 teams, taking part in six groups of four teams, followed by knock out rounds giving us again a total of 52 games to look at.

In terms of kits, the 90’s hit us in a big way at this World Cup and in particular Adidas who introduced some very views on the traditional international kits that we seen in previous tournaments, we also saw 19 teams wear both their first and second choice kits through the tournament.

At this point although not in a World Cup I do feel I have to make special mention to Euro 88 and those kits worn by The Netherlands and USSR, take a quick moment to reflect on those shirts…….. and now back into Italia 90!

Adidas, who supplied 15 of 24 teams kits really caught the eye with some outstanding kits and several different templates and styles gracing the pitch.  Some more classic templates, think Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium and then some real “modern” designs for USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Colombia, not forgetting of course the eventual Winners West Germany who wore a kit that was then unique and instantly iconic, a kit that often comes into contention when discussing greatest kits of all time.

Another iconic shirt from the tournament was England, who only wore their home kit through out the tournament but thanks to efforts of Paul “Gazza” Gascoigne taking the team to Semi-Finals made this kit a real fans favourite.  Umbro reproduced the shirt in 2010 including Gazza’s No.19 on the back (and yes, I do have this version of the shirt).

In that Semi-Final West Germany wore their away kit for only time in the tournament and again it was a classic kit, similar in design to previously mentioned Euro 88 shirts of The Netherlands and USSR and something if reports are to believed will be the basis of the German away kit at Russia 2018.

For me special mentions need to be made to Scotland, with a stunning pair of kits from Umbro, that away kit….. and also the Colombia kits from Adidas, again as mentioned with Germany, these kits are basis of the shirt that will be worn this summer in Russia.

 

Kit Log – World Cup, Mexico 1986

The Greatest ever kit (?) and hooped shorts….

In 1986 24 teams headed to Mexico, who stepped in to host the tournament when Colombia where no longer able to host the 13th World Cup and the first nation to host the tournament for a second time. As in 1970 the heat was a factor into the style of shirts worn by the nations taking part with lighter fabrics and even the return of some Airtex Shirts, yes Argentina I am talking about you…

A format change from the previous tournament and one that is the basis of the tournament that we see today, six groups of four teams with top two from each group qualifying and the four best third placed teams also qualifying for second round, for those that can not remember that far back (lucky you), think Euro 2016 and you will have an idea of the format.

One thing to call out straight away is Scotland’s shorts, as far as I can remember the only hooped shorts to grace the international arena and for me probably my favourite shorts ever, in fact this whole Scotland kit from Umbro is a thing of beauty.

The second highlight…. Denmark, a pair of kits that always gets a mention in the “Greatest Kit” debates, but more on that to come….

Other kits that deserve honourable mentions, France followed up their classic 1984 kit which we seen rebooted several times over the years with an under-rated pair of kits, another unique pair of Algeria kits, however this time with a Red Away kit.  Iraq with a Sky Blue / Yellow kit collections, I believe these kits where chosen as lucky colours rather than being linked to history.

The eventual winners Argentina also had two classic kits, each taking their place in history with two of the greatest goals seen in World Cup History in Quarter Final against England (Away Kit) and the Semi Final against Belgium (Home Kit).

Denmark – Who wore four different variations of their classic kit, maybe one of the reasons it became so famous was its inter-changeability (if that is a word????)

England – The Quarter Final against Argentina is my first memory of watching a World Cup game, the 9 year old me was in awe of the whole spectacle, the memory of the giant spider shadow on the centre circle, Gary Lineker’s goal and that cross by John Barnes that seemed destined to be put away for Lineker’s 7th goal of the tournament but no… 6 goals for my hero and an exit from the tournament but this kit left a mark on me, for those who follow me on Twitter will know my love of England in Sky Blue and this my friends is the reason why….

Oh and I did not mention the Hand of God once….. oops!

Kit Log – World Cup, Spain 1982

With the next World Cup just around the corner and over the next few weeks we will see the full complement of kits that will grace this tournament, I thought I would take some time and revisit some previous tournaments, starting with Spain 1982.

The tournament took place between 13th June 1982 and 11th July 1982, now from here I will not waste any of your time with the references to the games and the eventual winners Italy (or the controversy that surrounded the team before the tournament), those details can be found elsewhere and in much detail and accuracy than I could provide, all we are looking at here are the kits…. who wore what and against whom!

So my friends, I give you The World Cup, Spain 1982…

One thing to note about the tournament was the format, this was very different to what we see now, in this version of the World Cup the initial group stage (six groups of four teams) was then followed by second group phase that saw four groups of three teams with the winners of each group progressing to the Semi-Finals.

In terms of kits, you will notice a lot of pin-striped kits, most of these where Adidas kits and something of a popular template of the era and took us from the very plain kits of the 70s into a more vibrant age of football kit design.  A couple of things that immediately spring to my mind when creating this log was the use of different kits in the same colour for a couple of countries.  Both New Zealand and Czechoslovakia had both plain and pinstripe white kits over the course of their participation of the tournament.

England, not only did they remain unbeaten in the tournament but also had one of their iconic kit designs, which is instantly recognisable to football fans and was arguably a high point in the kit designs of Admiral.

There was also some interesting kit designs from Algeria and Belgium, who sported the classic tramline kit from Admiral, however this was transitional period for kit design with many countries including winners Italy remaining faithful to their historical kits and keeping it simple, however that was all about to change…..