An added bonus to the World Cup taking place is that all us fans who love football shirts get plenty of new releases for the tournament as kit manufacturers have finally begun to create kits specifically for the women's national teams rather them having to use the same as the men's teams. granted this makes it a bit more expensive for us collectors as there are plenty of shirts for us to purchase but it is nice to see the women getting the chance to standout on their own. There are some brilliant designs being released for the women's teams too and it is safe to say this World Cup is no different and there are some truly eye catching designs. Some shirts definitely standout more than others with bold in your face designs whilst some are a bit more subtle and go for a simpler classic kind of look. Today's post is a look at the 15 shirts that have quickly become favourites that we are looking forward to seeing throughout the tournament and why we are loving those specific designs, so here are the 15 shirts that have made the cut...
Canada Home
This Canada home shirt for the World Cup definitely stands out from the crowd whilst also representing the nation brilliantly. The classic red you associate with the nation is front and centre whilst the fading of the colour just adds another layer to the shirts design alongside the geometric print that makes up the bulk of the design. The added bonus of the maple leaf just captures a art of Canada's culture and adds to the representation of the nation. This is so much better than some of the plain red shirts we have seen Nike produce for Canada in the past and it is certainly going to help them stand out on the pitch.
Netherlands Away
Nike really have brought out some crazy in your face designs for the World Cup, some work and some not so much but this Netherlands one really stands out to us for all the right reasons. We ended up falling in love with the Netherlands in the Euro's due to the fan experience plus some of the players performances so of course we were looking forward to seeing what sort of shirt they would be wearing this time around. Nike hasn't disappointed with the design of the away shirt as the colours work so well together. This is definitely high up on the want to purchase list.
Portugal Away
This shirt is a bit of a Marmite shirt isn't it? People have either being loving it or hating it and we are definitely on the loving it side. Our favourite shirts are those that stand out and are bold as you will see in this post, as for too many years teams were having boring generic shirts but these are just different and make a nice change. This design is pretty random but again Nike have managed to incorporate the nations primary colours into the shirt well without it being like a home shirt. We love when the nations main colours spill into the away kit too and they can represent those colours with less chance of clashing with the opposition.
Australia Home
The joint host nations shirts always impress us if we are honest as you can't really go wrong with the green and gold colourway. If we are being honest we did prefer the previous shirt with the collar however, this is still up there as one of our favourites for this competition. The green details against the gold background once again look absolutely fantastic and the swirl design on the shirt just adds a layer to the design without it being too in your face. We might like bold crazy shirts but with Australia's shirts a much simpler design works perfectly and this ticks all the boxes for us.
Netherlands Home
We did mention earlier in the post that we had a soft spot for the Netherlands these days and we guess it shows with the fact that both their shirts have made it into our top 15. The Netherlands away kit is out there and in your face where as the home shirt is a bit more classic and simple. It has the vibrant orange you always associate with Netherlands and just like with the Australian home shirt it has a subtle design built in rather than being a bold print as we see in the away shirt. Again the subtle design just stops the shirt being so plain and boring and is one of the reasons this shirt is here on our favourites list.
Denmark Home
Hummel is not really a manufacturer we are usually impressed by however, we are really looking forward to seeing this Denmark shirt being worn at the World Cup. This shirt design is the classic red you associate with Denmark with some bold white prints making the shirt catch your eye. For us though it is the faded design on the shirt which blends into the red brilliantly but is still very noticeable. This design features the Danish badge and bold prints without taking away from the otherwise simple design. We would love to actually see this shirt in person as who knows that print might be even bolder in person.
England Away
In the past both England shirts might have been on this list however, the home shirt this tournament is a let down compared to the last World Cup & Euro's. The away shirt though is a different story and is one we actually want to purchase. It gives us retro vibes and we can't help but think of the Italia 90 shirt when we look at this. It gives you those vibes but Nike have done well to work the design to make it unique for the Lionesses to stand out on the pitch for their own reasons as it is similar but not an identical copy. This is by far one of our favourites from all those nations heading to the World Cup and of course it will be the number 1 purchase. Even if we weren't English this would no doubt still have been purchased we just love it.
Italy Away
Puma never did Italy justice in our eyes and the shirts they were producing for them just weren't cutting it for us even if we did end up purchasing one of the third shirts from an outlet recently. Adidas on the other hand have created a nice and simple looking away shirt for the nation which catches our eye for all the right reasons. Adidas have really pulled it out of the bag with these designs and Italy's shirt is no different as the colours work well and the pattern on the shirt stands out without being too much. This is definitely one of our favourite Italy shirts in recent years, let's just hope we get to see it throughout the tournament.
Spain Away
This Spain away shirt is possibly our favourite out of all the away shirts that Adidas have released for the World Cup. With the ocean theme this shirt is totally different to what you would expect to see Spain wearing however, it works really well. All the colours work well together and the coral / sea life pattern stands out perfectly with out being too much as the main focus is of the detail growing out from the seams of the shirt. This shirt is definitely up there as one we really want to add to our collection just down to how different it is.
Japan Away
The Adidas shirt love continues with this stunning Japan away shirt that catches your eye due to the colours on the shirt rather than a bold in your face print. We don't think anyone expected a shirt like this for Japan but it works perfectly, the main focus is the nations badge but the colours made to look like the sky catch your eye and blend perfectly together. This shirt is so simple compared to some of our other favourites but we honestly just can't get enough of it. There seems to be a Japan shaped hole in our collection which this might fill perfectly if we were to find it in our size.
Germany Away
Look we told you Adidas have impressed us with their away shirts for the World Cup and the Germany away shirt isn't even the last to feature from Adidas in this post. Every time we go to the local Adidas outlet we get tempted to purchase some of the Germany shirts they have to offer but we always opt not to buy them, if we come across this shirt though it is going to be an instant purchase. Carrying on the climate theme from Adidas this green and gold colourway works brilliantly and the green forest design blends into the shirt perfectly with just a few leaf details standing out that bit more on the pattern rather than it being a full shirt of leaves which would possibly have been far too much.
Ireland Home
We have to say that Castore are definitely becoming a manufacturer that we are paying more attention to these days as they are releasing some great shirts and the shirts are really good quality and provide a nice fit. It is Ireland's first time in the World Cup and they have a nice simple & classic shirt to wear for their debut in the tournament. Castore have kept the green as the main focus of the shirt with just small strips of white and orange to incorporate the nations flag colours. Nice and simple and a shirt we 100% want in our collection.
Switzerland Home
We mentioned earlier that Puma had let us down in recent years with shirt releases however, there is one that we are really liking for the World Cup. The shirt we are loving is the Switzerland home shirt, this is much simpler than 90% of the other shirts on this post but it is a simple shirt that works. Previously Puma shirts have looked like those cheap templates you can get in Sports Direct however, this one just looks a lot better and the white across the shoulders just stops the shirt being too plain and boring. This is definitely better than Puma's recent options and we will be keeping an eye out for a price drop on this one.
Colombia away
This is the final Adidas shirt we promise. In all honesty though this is possibly our favourite shirt out of all the Adidas ones in this post as that galaxy/cosmic print really stands out and catches your eye. The colours of this print is absolutely brilliant and the yellow badge and stripes just stand out nicely without spoiling the shirts overall purple & blue galaxy design. Nice and simple with the print blending in but catches your eye for all the right reasons.
France Home
The blue on this France shirt is a bit different to the usual blue you expect as it is a lot lighter in colour but we love it due to it being that little bit different simply down to the colour. We ended up purchasing the France home shirt from the Euro's and that had a print worked into the design that definitely stood out where as this one is a lot more subtle in it's design. The light blue works really well on this simple template which a few teams will be wear just in different colours. We will definitely be looking to add this one to our collection too as you can't beat a good France shirt, past or present.
These shirts are by far the favourites this time around and these nations are definitely going to look great on the pitch and let's hope their performance matches up to that. If the cost of these shirts wasn't as ridiculous as it currently is I would very happily buy every single one off this list but I am definitely going to have to try narrow it down to just a few purchases and it is pretty difficult to just pick a few of these to purchase as they are all great in their own ways. Keep an eye on social media to see which shirts we end up purchasing, if we end up getting any at all...
Don't forget the World Cup content is well underway here at Edge of the Area and there are even more posts coming this weekend and into next week which are all about the players to keep an eye on throughout the tournament.