Lionel Messi headlines Argentina’s launch of new jersey for FIFA World Cup 2026

Argentina are one of the teams that have already secured their spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will take place in North America. With their focus on that goal, they unveiled their new kit this Wednesday, with Lionel Messi as the main attraction.

This was done through an Instagram post jointly by the official Argentina account and the Adidas Argentina account, the sports brand that outfits the national team. In addition to revealing the new jersey with a photo of Messi, they included a caption: “The best player in the world wearing the new jersey, the most beautiful of all.”

The new model features some marked differences compared to the one Argentina had been using until now. The distribution and size of the vertical sky blue and white stripes, characteristic of the Argentina national team, remain, but the shade of sky blue has become darker. Additionally, it has a gradient effect that darkens each of the stripes as they approach the edges.

“The traditional Argentina vertical stripes in sky blue and white take on a shapeshifting look, with a unique three-colored fading effect, channeling the blue tones from the three previous FIFA World Cup winning shirts – 1978, 1986 & 2022,” explained Adidas through its official website.

Another important detail is in the shoulders and collar: here, there are lines in much darker tones, contrasting with the previous model, which used the same sky blue color as the vertical stripes. This makes it resemble earlier versions of Argentina’s jerseys more closely.

Details of the new Argentina jersey

In addition to the color and design choices of the new Argentina jersey, certain details deserve special mention. In the upcoming World Cup, Lionel Messi and his teammates will wear on their chests the patch that identifies them as reigning champions, a designation they will hold until the end of the tournament unless they win the title again.

Related to this is the crest of the Argentine Football Association, which has three stars to commemorate the three titles won in 1978, 1986, and 2022. And a final detail was revealed by Adidas: “The back neck sees a bespoke sign-off reading ‘1896’ – celebrating the founding date of the AFA.”

Other national teams with new jerseys ahead of the 2026 World Cup

Argentina is not the only national team to unveil a new jersey this Wednesday: another 21 new models were also announced by Adidas. Among them, some have already secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup and will wear these new jerseys there: Algeria, Colombia, Japan, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.

The vast majority of the others are still competing in their respective confederation qualifiers with the goal of securing a place. They are Belgium, Costa Rica, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Northern Ireland, Qatar, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and Wales. Finally, Chile, Peru, and Venezuela will not be in the World Cup, but they will still wear their new jerseys starting in 2026.