With 42 of the 48 qualifiers now confirmed for Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup draw, we’re starting to see a cavalcade of kits released in preparation for the event, which will be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States next summer.
Hot on the heels of last month’s bulk release by Adidas, Puma is the latest manufacturer to unveil a batch of kits that its national teams will be wearing next year. On Wednesday, it released the new home shirts for all of its European teams: Austria, Czechia, Iceland, Portugal and Switzerland.
The unifying design concept is “the love of the shirt,” with Puma highlighting the national pride felt among players and fans when they pull on their colors for the big occasion.
We’ve rifled through the new home kits on offer and cast a sartorial eye over each of them, listed here in alphabetical order, and assigned them all a ranking out of 10.
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Austria
AustriaRed and black as opposed to the standard red and white, Austria have mixed things up a little only to still end up with a basic template kit to wear on the grandest stage next summer. Their Euro 2024 home kit had a brilliantly weird all-over graphic inspired by the quirky architecture found in villages in the foothills of the Alps. This has absolutely nothing of the sort. However, the basic design does allow that marvelous crest to stand out.
Rating: 5/10
Czechia
CzechiaA blood-red base is furnished with unusual dark blue woven bands that trim the collars and cuffs. The bands feature an embroidered pattern, while the single button-up collar adds yet another quirky detail to the mix, which looks like is a deft nod to the collared shirts worn by the nation then known as Czech Republic when they reached the final of Euro 1996. On the reverse, the double-tailed lion of Bohemia is placed centrally between the shoulder blades in order to infuse an extra touch of national symbolism when they compete in March’s World Cup qualification playoffs.
Rating: 6.5/10
Iceland
IcelandAccording to Puma, Iceland’s new home shirt captures the “raw power of the nation’s volcanic landscapes” as well as embodying the “icy resilience” of its people. But, in all honesty, it doesn’t do them justice. Supposedly inspired by ancient glaciers and roaring volcanic eruptions, what we appear to have here is the plainest of plain blue templates with the most minimal amount of contrasting trim imaginable. Unlike the Nordic landscape, this is featureless. Maybe it’s for the best that they didn’t qualify.
Rating: 2/10
Portugal
PortugalA red jersey with simple green trim on the sleeves and v-neck collar, this jersey has a subtle wave pattern in the material to signify the Iberian nation’s long and proud maritime history. The concept is solid, but the execution is unfortunately a little underwhelming, meaning that Portugal’s second home kit under their new deal with Puma — the one which Cristiano Ronaldo will wear at his sixth and final World Cup — is unfortunately a bit of a downgrade on the first.
Rating: 6/10
Switzerland
SwitzerlandRed with minimal white trim — the same as every other Switzerland home shirt since the dawn of association football. The minor distinction this time round is a subtle wave graphic in the fabric which mirrors the hidden contour lines that appear on Swiss passports when passed under UV light. A fairly niche source of inspiration, but at least it adds a little excitement to what is ostensibly a fairly predictable jersey.
Rating: 4.5/10
