With the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicking off in Qatar in less than three months, Adidas released a slew of new national team kits on Monday to keep the hype level high.
GERMANY – Home and Away
Perhaps the highest profile kits released Monday belong to Germany — four-time World Cup champions and home to Adidas’s corporate headquarters. Like most German home kits over the years, the 2022 version is predominantly white, but this time there is a broad black stripe running vertically down the centre of the shirt. The Adidas logo and national team crest appear in gold and centered on the chest within the black stripe. The crew neck collar, sleeve cuffs, shoulder stripes and side panels are black, and the collar and side stripes feature red and yellow trim, mirroring the German flag.
The away kit features a dark red geometric pattern on a black base. The Adidas logo and national team crest again appear in one-colour gold applications. The collar and sleeve cuffs are again black, while the shoulder stripes are gold. A dark red stripe runs along the side and back hem.
JAPAN – Home and Away
Meanwhile, Japan has stuck with its traditional royal blue base for its 2022 home kits, but added a white geometric pattern that reinforces an “origami” concept. The collar is royal blue, while the shoulder stripes and side panels are white. A red stripe runs down the sides and cross the back hem.
The origami pattern is also seen on the sleeves of the white away kit, made up of overlapping red and blue lines. The collar, shoulder stripes, sleeve cuffs and side stripes are all black.
SPAIN – Home and Away
Spain have kept things relatively simple for their 2022 World Cup home kits. They’ll be solid red, with navy blue accents in the shoulder stripes and side panels. The collar is navy blue with red and yellow stripes running through it and a blue insert at the front. The side stripes are blue and yellow. A yellow Adidas logo sits on the right chest, while the left chest is home to a new streamlined Spanish national team crest.
The away kit, however, is where Spain lets their hair down. It’s light blue with a tonal pattern of streaks and semicircles all over. The crest and Adidas logo sit in the middle of the chest. The crew neck collar is light blue with tonal trim, and the shoulder stripes alternate red and yellow to mirror the Spanish flag.
ARGENTINA – Away
Like Spain, Argentina stuck to tradition with their home kit, released in early July, but have gone outside the box their away kit. The shirt is predominantly purple, with a tonal pattern forming flames emanating from the bottom of the jersey. Lighter purple accents include the shoulder stripes, the trim on the collar insert, stripes around each sleeves, the side panels and the side and back hem stripes.
Adidas says the jersey is “powered by national pride and the quest for a fairer world. Representing gender equality, its vibrant purple hues combine with fiery graphics inspired by the national flag’s Sun of May.”
MEXICO – Away
Mexico’s home kit, also released in early July, was inspired by the Aztec god Quetzalcóatl, and that inspiration from ancient gods carries forward into the away kit. The base is off-white and features a dark red pattern of “Mixtec art and Aztec deities to summon the fighting spirit required to rule the soccer world.” Most of the accents are dark red, save for some dark green trim around the collar. The new national team crest also appears in monochromatic red.
BELGIUM – Home and Away
Meanwhile, Belgium’s national team is drawing on its “Red Devils” nickname for inspiration for their World Cup home kits. The shirt is solid red with black raglan sleeves that feature a pattern of red, orange and yellow flames near each cuff. The collar is solid black, as are the side stripes, side panels and Adidas logo on the chest. The shoulder stripes are red.
The away kits, however, are an expression of love. The white kit features a multicoloured pattern of red, orange, yellow, pink and blue throughout, including on the national team crest, the Adidas logo, the collar trim, the sleeve cuffs, the side panels, the side stripes and the back hem. The word “LOVE” is printed on the back collar in the same pattern, which also features on several pieces of Belgian team merchandise on Adidas’s website. The shoulder stripes are light blue.
NOTE: The nations below failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, but have also recently released new kits.
SWEDEN – Home and Away
Though they didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup, the Svenska Fotbollförbundet (SvFF) also unveiled new Adidas kits for the Swedish national teams on Monday. The home kit is predominantly yellow, with subtle tonal vertical stripes on the front. The navy blue Adidas logo and national team crest are centered on the chest. The crew neck collar has royal blue trim and navy blue panels on the sides that lead into the navy blue shoulder stripes. The sleeve cuffs also have navy and royal stripes. The side panels are navy blue, while the side and back hem stripes are royal blue.
Sweden’s away kit is solid white, again with the Adidas logo and national team crest centered on the chest. The side and back hem stripes are royal blue, while the side panels are yellow. The collar and sleeve cuffs are royal blue with a yellow stripe bordered in navy blue. The outer shoulder stripes are are royal, while the inner one is yellow. Both kits feature “SVERIGE” in royal blue on the back collar.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA – Home and Away
Bosnia and Herzegovina also didn’t qualify to play in Qatar, but they’ll look stylish nonetheless in their new home and away kits. The home kit is blue, with a tonal wave pattern all over the front and sleeves. The back is solid blue, and the side and back hem stripes are white. The collar is dark blue, and the shoulder stripes and Adidas logo on the chest are white.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s away kit is mostly white, with the wave pattern from the home kit replicated in a much lighter shade of teal on the raglan sleeves. The shoulder stripes, side stripes, back hem stripe and side panels are all teal, while the collar is white.
COLOMBIA – Home and Away
Even though Colombia failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, their new away kit was unveiled along with the other national team kits on Monday. It’s predominantly red, a tonal geometric pattern all over. The accents are light blue, including the collar trim, sleeve stripes, side stripes and shoulder stripes. The national team crest and Adidas logo on the chest also appear in one-colour light blue applications.
The home kit, released several weeks ago, is solid yellow with navy blue shoulder stripes. A red stripe runs around each sleeve, and the side panels and side stripes are also red. The insert at the front of the V-neck collar is navy blue with red trim.
LATVIA – Home
Latvia’s new home kit is the country’s signature shade of maroon, with pinstripes embossed into the fabric on the front of the shirt. The crew neck collar is also maroon, with white trim on the sides that leads into the white shoulder stripes. A white stripe also runs around each sleeve. The national team crest appears on the right chest, while another team insignia of a wolf inside the same shape from the crest appears on the back collar to symbolize “the unity of a pack that comes together for a common goal.”
HUNGARY – Home and Away
The red, white and green stripes across the front of Hungary’s new white away kit mirror the country’s flag and are “inspired by scarves held aloft on match day.” The logo of the Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség (Hungarian Football Federation) sits on the right chest and the Hungarian coat of arms sits on the left chest, with a red Adidas logo in between. The white crew neck collar is trimmed with red. The shoulder stripes, side stripes and back hem stripe are all red as well.
UPDATE (Aug. 31, 2022): A new home kit for Hungary has also been spotted for sale on various websites. It’s solid red, with white accents including the shoulder stripes, sleeve cuffs, collar insert, side panels, side stripes and back hem stripe. Like the away kit, the logo of the Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség (Hungarian Football Federation) sits on the right chest and the Hungarian coat of arms sits on the left chest, with an Adidas logo in between.
CHILE – Home
Chile also didn’t qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but they still got a new home kit, which was released several weeks ago. It’s solid red, with a blue V-neck collar and sleeve cuffs both trimmed in white. The shoulder stripes are white and the side panels are solid blue. The stripes that run down the sides and across the back hem are white with a blue splatter pattern.
Chile recently switched to Adidas kits after a dispute with Nike over non-payment of their contract. The Chilean team played several matches with the Nike logo on their kits covered up while the dispute was still in the courts.