With 48 teams about to march into stadiums across the US, Canada, and Mexico, BBC dropped a list that's guaranteed to start fights in every group chat: the 10 greatest World Cup jerseys of all time.

Some are iconic. Some are cursed. One literally never saw a World Cup pitch. Let's get into it.

Classic World Cup jerseys through the decades

10. Cameroon — 2002 Home

This is the jersey that was too cool for FIFA. Cameroon wore sleeveless kits at AFCON 2000 and won the whole thing. Then FIFA stepped in and said: "Put some sleeves on that."

They never got to wear it at the World Cup. Which, honestly, just adds to the legend. Former Cameroon midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba put it best: "The whole of Africa wanted to wear that shirt."
9. England — 1966 Away

If you're in a pub in London this summer, you'll see this red jersey everywhere. It's the shirt England wore the one and only time they lifted the World Cup. Sometimes a jersey doesn't need to look revolutionary — it just needs to mean something.
8. France — 1982 Home

The 1982 semifinal between France and West Germany was chaos: a shocking goalkeeper collision, a 3-3 thriller in extra time, the first penalty shootout in World Cup history. Michel Platini's French squad wore this — a jersey so clean it looks like it was designed yesterday.
7. Netherlands — 1974 Home

Total Football wasn't just a tactical revolution — it was an attitude. Johan Cruyff had a personal Puma deal and refused Adidas' three stripes. After a standoff, his jersey shipped with only two stripes. King behavior.
6. Croatia — 1998 Home

Davor Šuker, a red-and-white checkerboard, and a third-place debut run that nobody saw coming. Croatia's 1998 kit was the uniform of the tournament's most surprising underdog story.
5. Nigeria — 2018 Home

Three million pre-orders. Lines around the block at Nike's London flagship. This wasn't just a football jersey — it was a fashion moment that broke into streetwear culture.
4. Brazil — 1970 Home

No country owns a color the way Brazil owns yellow. Pelé, Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Rivelino — the greatest national team ever assembled, in a kit so simple and brilliant it's basically untouchable.
3. USA — 1994 Away

Adidas went full Americana: denim texture, giant stars across the front, and the audacity to pull it off. The team worried they'd get clowned. Instead this kit became a cult classic. Peak '90s. Absolutely zero notes.
2. Argentina — 1986 Away

The "Hand of God." The solo goal that broke England. FIFA blocked Argentina's striped home kit vs England's white — so Carlos Bilardo allegedly sent staff to a Mexico City knockoff market. Maradona picked the winner: "This is a beautiful jersey. Wearing it, we will beat the English."

Equipment managers hand-stitched numbers the night before. In 2022, Steve Hodge sold that exact shirt at auction for £7.1 million ($9 million).
1. Germany — 1990 Home

The undisputed champ. A collector's grail. The design debuted at Euro 1988; designer Ina Franzmann was already working on a replacement when Franz Beckenbauer said: keep it. West Germany lifted the trophy in Italy under those blazing summer lights.

Sometimes the best decisions are the ones you almost didn't make.

maradona 1986 jersey

BBC Just Ranked the 10 Greatest World Cup Jerseys — #1 Is Pure Perfection