Potential Unused World Cup Kits: How Many Might Go Unworn?

Following FIFA’s allocation of kits for the group stage of this summer’s World Cup in the US, as many as 18 national team shirts may remain unworn by their respective countries. Out of the 108 strips released by the 48 participating teams—excluding goalkeeper jerseys—only 87 are confirmed to appear in at least one match during the tournament.

Under standard regulations, every nation is required to provide at least two primary kits, adhering to the traditional 'home' and 'away' designations. Additionally, 12 countries have introduced a third kit, distinguished by a color different from their first two. FIFA has already designated which of these shirts will be utilized during the 72 group-stage matches, leaving a specific number of kits unselected for immediate use. While these remaining shirts could potentially be worn if teams advance to the knockout stages, their availability depends on future tournament outcomes.

Currently, the majority of the unselected kits are away or third shirts. However, there are notable exceptions: Ghana and Uzbekistan will not wear their home shirts in any of their group-stage fixtures. Similarly, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Curacao, DR Congo, Iran, Ivory Coast, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Senegal, and South Africa will not feature their away shirts in their three group matches. Ecuador, Haiti, Iraq, and Jordan are set to go without using their third shirts during the scheduled group games.

Conversely, several nations will utilize all three of their kits throughout the group stage. Canada, Cape Verde, Mexico, and Panama are scheduled to wear different strips in every match they play. England and Scotland have each released two shirts and will wear both during their group-stage fixtures. Scotland will also deploy a distinct goalkeeper kit for all three of their matches against Haiti, Morocco, and Brazil.

Top Unseen Designs

Among the 12 away kits that might not see the pitch this summer, six were recently identified by BBC Sport as standing out among the best designs of this year’s tournament. These alternative strips from Austria, Belgium, Curacao, Japan, Ivory Coast, and South Africa were all included in the selection. Under current plans, none of these specific kits will be worn unless their respective nations progress to the later rounds and are subsequently instructed by FIFA to don them.

From a broader shortlist of 34 shirts, Curacao’s away kit emerged as the most favored choice among BBC Sport readers among those currently not scheduled for play. Japan’s away shirt ranked just below Curacao’s, taking fifth place overall and second among the kits without a scheduled match.

This report is part of the latest updates from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-03 14:04:12 UTC