To finish it off, the polo collar was given a trim of red and blue to match the colours of the country's flag. Moving the design on from 1996, Lotto slightly simplified the look by having the pattern appear on just one shoulder – almost as if the Croatian flag had been draped around its neck. Two years on from that tournament, Croatia made their World Cup bow while donning a shirt that would take its place among the best ever seen at the finals. It was Euro 96 when the country's red and white check pattern first made an impression on football fans and it's one that has stayed as a huge favourite ever since. There aren’t many clubs or countries who can say that the signature design of their kit is completely unique, but it’s a statement Croatia can boast comfortably. The 1974 Holland kit is how you pull off orange, even if Johan Cruyff's looked different Interestingly, the team’s star and football icon Johan Cruyff famously wore a different version of the shirt, removing one of adidas’ well-known stripes down to his lucrative sponsorship deal with rival sports brand Puma. It was a look that accompanied Holland all the way to the final, where they eventually came up short against the hosts. The cherry on top of this adidas kit was the badge, which matched the singular black shorts and stripes, but also covered almost the whole of one corner of the chest. The country’s national animal never looked prouder to be part of the football team’s kits. The deep orange jersey twinned with bold black trimmings made the Netherlands stand head and shoulders above the rest in Germany that year, and is one of three shirts they have worn in tournament finals.
Holland always seem to make orange look good and there’s been some utter era-defining outfits over the years – the Euro 88 shirt is possibly the greatest example – but when it comes to World Cups, they’ve never looked as good as in 1974. The only downside was the lack of appearances it had at the Russia tournament, where Nigeria managed only one win during the group stage and were unable to progress to the knockout rounds.
So much so, it had three million pre-orders before its release and shoppers even queued outside Nike’s flagship London store to try and get their hands on the shirt. The bright ‘eagle-wing’ design across the shoulders in black and white, and vibrant green pattern across the torso, made it an eye-catcher in Russia and hugely popular with fans. The 2018 Nike shirt gave a subtle nod to the jersey that made headlines in the States, while also turning up the volume a little bit more. There’s a great deal of fondness for their away kit at USA 94, a shirt synonymous with the image of Rashidi Yekini celebrating his goal against Bulgaria wrapped around the goal net, but it's the more modern-day version that even surpassed that design. The 1970s-style Peru sash has become one of the most popular designs in World Cup historyĪfrican teams have had their fair share of highlights on the World Cup kit front – Cameroon’s 1990 creation can count itself unlucky not to have made this list – but it’s Nigeria who have often been the continent’s kit kings.
But at least they looked good in doing so.
However, fellow South Americans Brazil and Argentina proved a step too far for Peru in the second group phase, as they shipped in nine goals against the pair without reply. It’s a kit Scotland fans will remember well, as the Peruvians beat the Tartan Army on their way to topping the first group stage. The bold red strip across a clean white jersey was already a standout number, but in '78 they added a big polo shirt collar and the brand’s famous three strips on the shorts and socks for a truly timeless look. The sash first appeared on a Peru shirt at the 1936 Olympics, but was perfected in the 1970s after adidas became the country’s kit supplier for the Argentina showpiece - and they created an all-time classic. There’s something about a sash across a football shirt that gets most fans gooey-eyed and that all stems from the stylish output from the South Americans across the 19 tournaments. Their legacy may be limited to five tournaments, yet Peru's place in World Cup folklore lives on in one simple sash.
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