The best (and worst) jerseys at the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Australia (Away)

Home kits are shackled by tradition, but away kits are where designers can be a bit more experimental. Australia’s home strip will always be some variation of the iconic green and gold, but the away kit has shifted from teal to navy blue to black to grey and back again – and none of those really scream Oz or stylish.

For the 2026 world cup, Nike has gone in a bold new direction with a coral and dark green gradient. Nike says this palette is “inspired by Australian sunrises”, which is better reasoning than kits that have simply slapped navy blue on a jersey and called it Australian.

Mexico (Home)

The best national team jerseys are ones that seamlessly incorporate key components of their subject’s national identity. This one for joint hosts Mexico does exactly that. First things first, it makes sense that the team known as El Tricolor lives up to its name and actually uses all three national colours. The centrepiece, however, is the overlay of an Aztec Piedra del Sol calendar. This is also a throwback to the Mexican kits of the ’90s. Great kit all around.

Japan (Away)

Japan are the kings of the mass-appeal jersey and they’ve hit it out of the park yet again. It looks really (really) good. Styled correctly, you could wear it around and not be asked whether you’re heading to a game. There is also, appropriately, some meaning behind the design. The rainbow pinstripes are inspired by Japanese baseball uniforms. There’s 12 of them: 11 for the players on the pitch, and the central red one to symbolise the wider Japanese football family. The black accents and Adidas trefoil are the cherry on top.

Ghana (Home)

Beautiful, isn’t it? The story behind the spider-web design is even better. It’s a reference to Ananse, a mythical spider who is part of the native Akan people’s folklore. At its centre is a black star, which mirrors the Ghanaian flag and has always featured on the nation’s jerseys. The way the webs extend from the star in a pencil-sketched manner is magnificent to behold.

Ivory Coast (Home)

When your nation’s primary colour is something as striking as Ivory Coast’s bright orange, your jerseys usually standout. Even so, Puma doubled down with the boldness. While not pictured here, the nation’s shorts for the world cup are also orange as part of one big colour block. Of course, it isn’t just orange. The subtle green accents add some differentiation and the big-cat print is very Puma. Although, given that the team’s nickname is Les Elephants, it does seem like a strange choice. Ultimately, cool factor wins out.

Norway (Home)

I am loath to give too much credit for simply superimposing a nation’s flag onto their jersey, but Nike have done a good job here. There is an underlying pattern too, with a series of Nordic knots resting inside the Nordic cross.

Ecuador (Home)

Did someone forget to tell Ecuador that this is a world cup? Seriously, their jerseys should be a bit more special than this. It’s just plain yellow with a blue trim on the collar and sleeves. Not even a pattern or some semblance of an original design. Marathon, who made the kit, is an Ecuadorian brand, so they should be familiar with some Ecuadorian motifs that signify national identity. Were they not able to come up with anything that could have been transposed onto this jersey so it could be identified as Ecuadorian and not simply team yellow? Apparently not.

Qatar (Away)

Well it’s just a white shirt, isn’t it? It’s as if Adidas forgot Qatar had qualified for the world cup and quickly slapped the trefoil on top of this. Not even some piping or a trim. This looks more like something you’d see hanging up at an Adidas store than on the field at the biggest sporting event on earth.

Switzerland (Away)

Ah, Switzerland, That mountainous, peace-loving nation of red, white and… fluorescent green? Switzerland have NEVER worn anything remotely green, but Puma have decided the world cup would be a good time to start. The little Swiss flag looks incongruous with the rest of the jersey, and the fact that it will be worn with red shorts makes it even worse. Taken on its own, this is not a terrible jersey. It would be perfectly serviceable for a local team from a leafy suburb like Toorak or Paddington – just not for Switzerland.

Switzerland’s home kit is far more traditional and was “inspired by the nation’s passports”. How exciting!

Canada (Home)

I would like to see a bit more of anything here. It’s not a warm-up shirt, Canada. It’s what you’ll wear while hosting the biggest sporting event in human history. This jersey manages to be both too simple and too garish – a rare combination. Would you wear this anywhere but a stadium? I wouldn’t.