Whenever a World Cup comes around every four years, the main excitement ahead of the tournament surrounds the anticipation of the first group games and whether your respective nation will make a positive start on the road to trying to lift the Jules Rimet trophy. However, in the days leading up to the beginning of football paradise, supporters also cannot wait to see the 32 teams wear shirts which tend to be released in the lead-up to the competition. Even from the first World Cup in 1930, there are kits which are still remembered to this day and you now have the opportunity to reminisce about the kits which you probably still remember from your childhood.
The United Kingdom's fastest growing menswear website The Idle Man have put together 'The 50 best World Cup football shirts' and as you can imagine, it brings back memories! Up to and including this year's edition - which will be the 21st staging of the tournament - The Idle Man have entries from 17 of those competitions. There are three which were worn before the start of the Second World War, while others were on display during some of the World Cup's most iconic moments, including the kit which was worn by USA during their famous triumph over England in 1950 and the unique jersey worn by the USSR in 1966.
The article covers all angles, however. There are kits which you very rarely see at a World Cup (Yes - Scotland are included...) while there is a notable transitional period where more kit manufacturers got involved and began to get more creative. Towards the end of the millennium, there were some outrageous jerseys on view, coincidentally - maybe - when the tournament went big time in the United States in 1994 and it is something which only got out of hand when one nation - or shirt supplier - opted for a kit with no sleeves in 2002! There is now more of a demand for simplistic, retro style shirts but even in 2018, you are going to witness some wacky designs.
That is not all, however. Also provided is a run-down of how each nation came to select their respective shirt design. It was inevitable that some of the kits had an interesting back story! Like The Idle Man are performing when it comes to menswear, they have gone the extra mile to give you what you want when it comes to World Cup kits.
This post was brought to you by trainers to t-shirts, The Idle Man is a go-to destination for men. Alongside the online shop The Idle Man Manual is a blog dedicated to offering men style advice as well as stories and guides about music, grooming and lifestyle.
