Belgium 3 Panama 0
Belgium’s home kit has an argyle pattern similar to their Euro 84 strip, though the absence of the white stripe makes for a more cohesive design. The adidas stripes are a shade of red only slightly darker than the material.
Panama’s New Balance shirts are of the same basic pattern as the Costa Rica ones, featuring an intricate chevron made up of a series of squares and right angles. The home is two-tone red, with blue given prominence on the white away.
Tunisia 1 England 2
Tunisia are Uhlsport’s only contract in Russia and their kits are quite pedestrian, with the ‘fade’ effect on the sides created by rectangles of decreasing size. It’s a concept repeated on the goalkeeper’s shirt though not the black shorts whereas the outfield shorts do carry it on, albeit in a truncated way.
England’s away shirts use the Nike zig-zag effect to create a representation of St George’s Flag. Intended to be worn with white shorts, the kit featured a red set here, oddly featuring a black Nike logo.
Colombia 1 Japan 2
Colombia’s kit has 1990 as its reference point, though back then red was the first-choice colour with yellow the back-up. Apparently, the white shorts and socks are a preference of manager José Pékerman.
Their goalkeeper David Ospina wore a green Squadra 17 shirt rather than the template used by every other adidas goalkeeper It had dark green trim whereas the shorts and socks had white.
Japan’s shirts look plain on first viewing, but they are enlivened by a series of navy pinstripes and white dashes – described as a modern interpretation of a traditional kimono design.
Poland 1 Senegal 2
Nike said that the diagonal graphic on the Poland shirt “represents the pride of the eagle cutting through the competition”. Ahem.
Senegal are nicknamed the Lions of Teranga and their shirts feature a lion’s face in a tribal pattern, the only real flourish added to a teamwear kit.
