It still doesn’t fully feel like a World Cup season, despite the fact that the next edition will be the biggest ever, so much so that it needs three host nations.
The fact that Mexico and the USA – along with Canada – are sharing the duties will naturally inspire quite a lot of nostalgia. For instance, one would think that there is a strong likelihood that the United States will be wearing kits that evoke the feel of those of 32 years previously – in 2015, a panel of experts voted them as the 31st- and 32nd-best designs of all time.
Of course, the rub there is that they were made by adidas – what we might term the German firm’s last ‘official’ offerings for America, though there was one last curiosity before the switch to Nike.
There is an element of irony in the fact that the World Cup held in the US was the last one not to feature any Nike kits – they have of course more than made up for that in the interim – but what if the hosts had been rocking the swoosh rather than the three stripes? That’s the hypothetical posed by friend of the site and the originator of the #1to11ify series, Jim Hearson.
It made for an enjoyable challenge without being an easy one – trying to replicate the spirit of the originals by delving into the Nike songbook.
For the home kit, Paris Saint-Germain’s striped style of 1993-94 fits the bill fairly well, albeit fitted with the new 1994-95 neck design, which handily featured stars on it.
Of course, stars were the key to the real-life denim-effect away: we haven’t gone denim but have broken the rules ever so slightly by calling on a goalkeeper shirt design, that used by Arsenal in their inaugural season with Nike.
A close-up of the pattern can be seen in the article’s cover image.
These kits may not be to everybody’s tastes – tackling classics is always a tightrope act – but hopefully you can appreciate the effort, if nothing else. Thanks again to Jim for the concept.
Feedback is of course welcome, along with future FKF suggestions – comment below or get in touch on Twitter or Bluesky.
