Adidas has dropped a wave of official releases, unveiling World Cup 2022 kits for Argentina, Germany, Japan, Mexico and Spain.
Though we’ve seen most of these shirts before via various leaks, the official release gives us our first truly clear looks at the new looks. Let’s dive in:
Argentina Away World Cup 2022 Kit
The Argentine home shirt was revealed back in July, and is a great adaptation of their classic striped design. The away is in dark blue with light purple/lavender accents – almost giving off a slight Real Madrid vibe with the colors. The one color silver treatment on the logo(s) is interesting, and is a nice counterpoint to the mostly monotone shirt. Taking up much of the lower half of the shirt is a design that appears to be an abstract take on the wavy sun rays from the Argentina flag, but it ended up looking like blue flames (now that I think about it, it reminds me of a certain blue-haired Disney villain).
Grade: C
It’s an interesting idea, but nothing terribly special.
Germany Home & Away World Cup 2022 Kits
Germany’s home and away set looks quite sharp. I was a bit lukewarm on the home white with the large center stripe upon seeing the leaks, but it’s grown on me and the official photos make a stronger impression. It’s a simple but bold shirt that still feels like Germany but will stand out from the sea of other white kits at the tournament. The away really shines though, with a very cool pattern that seems to be based upon the DFB triangles in the German federation logo. The leaks had this looking a bit more towards the purple side, but the dark red really looks clean against the darker base color, and the gold accents set the whole thing off.
Grade: B+
A solid set where each shirt acts as a sort of counterpoint to the other. The away pulls most of the weight, but the home has potential to become a classic look.
Japan Home & Away World Cup 2022 Kits
The new Japan home and away kits totally nail the “take inspiration from something from the national culture and run with it” approach. The graphic origami design across the home shirt is outstanding – it’s clearly there but it’s not too in-your-face with literal origami cranes or something like that. On the white aways, the design is rendered with a two-tone vibrating visual, as if looking at an old red/blue 3D image without the glasses on. The effect against the white base color almost looks like falling pink cherry blossoms from a distance. Really solid stuff.
Grade: A
Japan is a strong contender for best overall home/away pair this year. Each shirt shares the same theme, but each has it’s own distinct flavor.
Mexico Away World Cup 2022 Kit
This one is getting rave reviews on social media, and for good reason. The ornate feathered serpent Aztec design across the shirt is terrific, and the (mostly) one color red treatment works very nice and sets the shirt apart from the green home. Not a whole lot to see that’s negative here, except for I’m still not sold on that new badge (do an eagle and ball crest in the style of the serpent design on the shirt, please guys). Mexico’s away kit is a beauty, even better than the Mexico home jersey.
Grade: A-
A combo of a great design and smart, limited color palette makes for a real winner for El Tri.
Spain Home & Away World Cup 2022 Kits
Spain pairs a relatively subdued home look with a downright funky away top – and it works! The home is clean and classy – no fancy extras or wacky designs, just the simple dark red base, gold logos and dark blue trim (with a nice flag motif on the collar). With the full name and number added and the traditional blue shorts this one will look super crisp. And the away is one of my absolute favorite designs from any team so far this year. The wavy light blue design is super cool, and pairs very nicely with the Spanish red and gold accents. It’s wild, but just wild enough.
Grade: A
Spain’s dignified home top paired and an incredibly striking and fun away option will certainly have them near the top of the best dressed list in Qatar this fall.
Overall Adidas has put out a strong crop of new designs for some of the biggest sides in the tournament. Which one of the Adidas World Cup 2022 kits is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.
Browse through the complete collection of official World Cup shirts for Qatar 2022.
