Sports

The World Cup’s best shirts are already 30 years old

Over the next few days, something unusual will be happening across Spanish soccer. Nearly 40 men’s professional clubs in La Liga’s top two divisions will take to the field wearing retro-looking uniforms inspired by their respective histories. The kits were first unveiled at Madrid Fashion Week and are part of a campaign celebrating the country’s love for the sport. It is a fitting prelude.

Ten weeks later, the largest World Cup in history will be held across the US, Canada and Mexico — 48 teams, 104 matches, the most expansive commercial stage the sport has ever assembled. And many players will be wearing nostalgia-laden gear: Adidas recently unveiled new away kits embracing a “90s aesthetic” but designed in a “modern, contemporary way.” They will also bear the brand’s famous trefoil motif — for the first time in more than three decades.

The past is no longer just being collected, but worn, remade and reimagined.

The shirts that changed everything

To understand how soccer arrived here, you have to go further back than expected. “Proper fan replica shirts weren’t widely available until the 1970s,” said Alex Ireland, author of “Pretty Poly: The History of the Football Shirt.” “It was really only in the nineties where they became more broadly acceptable to go to the pub in.

Umbro’s England away shirt for Euro 96 arguably led the shift from uniform to everyday wear. The two-tone blue striped shirt was designed to pair with jeans — an early acknowledgement that the its life extended beyond the pitch. Technology did the rest. Advances in fabric printing allowed designers to embed complex graphics directly onto material, turning shirts into moving canvases. The result was the most visually inventive decade in the sport’s sartorial history.

“Everyone remembers their first World Cup,” said Sam Handy, General Manager of Football at Adidas. “Those kits get embedded in your memory structures — this is what football looks like.”

Mine was Italia 90 and the West Germany home shirt (pictured at the top) — black, red and gold geometric abstraction across the chest — what remains the holy grail among collectors. Norwegian collector Even Nesset describes something close to involuntary recall: “That shirt gives me a kind of false memory of 1990 — from seeing it, from watching YouTube clips of it being worn on the pitch.” England’s third shirt from the same year — sky blue with distinct geometric patterns, and inseparable from New Order’s hit song “World in Motion” — is listed on Cult Kits’ for $480.

While England didn’t wear the shirt on the pitch itself, its fan favorite status and the team’s semi-final run and subsequent penalty shootout defeat to West Germany, who would go on to win the World Cup, helped ensured its legacy, alongside the more classic white home shirt.

“When a brand takes risks in design and embeds it with a decent run for the team, you have a chance of creating something very visually sticky,” said Handy. Nesset distills it further, classifying “the crazy shirts, bold enough to seem wrong at first (USA 1994, Jamaica 1998, Mexico 1998), and the beautiful shirts, quietly perfect (Colombia 1990, Italy 1994).”

Those shirts spent decades in the margins — traded through flea markets and early eBay. Then, over the past two decades, something structural happened. Dedicated platforms — Classic Football Shirts, Cult Kits, Vintage Football Shirts, Saturdays Football and others — transformed an informal network into a scaled, trusted, global market. Founded by fans who couldn’t find the shirts they wanted, they built what they needed, evolving passion projects into lucrative businesses.

David Jones, co-founder of Cult Kits, describes a buyer base that has transformed. “Seventy percent buy for nostalgia — the players you pretended to be growing up. The rest have discovered soccer kits in a fashion sense.”

But this movement runs deeper than celebrity adoption. Psychologist Clay Routledge calls it “historical nostalgia” — a documented longing for eras you never inhabited. His research found 68% of Gen Z adults experience it, and far from being regressive, he argues it is future-oriented: a way of resolving present dissatisfaction by reaching toward something that feels more real. Football shirts are not alone in this. “It’s the same reason we see 100 different Marvel films,” Ireland explained, “you’ve got instant buy-in, a connection that means you don’t need to figure out if you like it. From rebooted franchises, fashion houses mining their archives and generation alpha raised on blended noughties pop, the same force is reshaping culture more broadly.

Cultural critic Simon Reynolds describes the broader condition as “Retromania” — we live in a state of atemporality where 1994 and 2026 exist on the same screen simultaneously. The World Cup crystallizes this. Each tournament is a sealed, re-watchable world — a month of soccer frozen in time. A generation that wasn’t alive for France 98 can spend a weekend inside it on YouTube, emerging with genuine emotional attachments to objects they never encountered in real time.

The summer everything arrives at once

“This is a defining era of soccer culture,” said Handy, “and the jersey is perhaps its clearest expression.” The trefoil — last seen on a World Cup shirt in 1990 — has recently appeared on special edition shirts and now, 25 World Cup competition kits.“We’re just trying to do it all — the past and the future — and letting it all exist at the same time,” Handy added.

Mat Davis, founder of Saturdays Football, has watched the arc from the inside. As the vintage market for men’s soccer jerseys commoditized beneath him — “you search by price, not ‘wow, that’s a unique shirt’” — he pivoted toward original product and, most recently, a partnership with Adidas, embroidering mini versions of the newly released away shirts onto Saturdays Football’s signature caps. Amplification for him, authenticity for Adidas.

Nowhere is that more resonant than with the then-divisive, now cult-classic Adidas-designed US men’s national team’s (USMNT) 94 away shirt. That shirt — a washed-denim effect with diagonally placed white stars — was reportedly met with silence when Adidas first unveiled it to the squad, followed by nervous laughter. Retailers were equally unsure, yet all 50,000 replica kits produced were sold. The bold design would eventually stand the test of time, partly because the team surprised many by reaching the round of 16, wearing the jersey during some of their biggest tournament moments. More than three decades later, the brand has recentlyreleased a lifestyle collection of jerseys, jackets, shorts, hats and even a pair of Samba trainers basedon the memorable design. Nike, who have dressed the team since 1995, designed its 2026 kits in close collaboration with players. They will be worn by all 27 US Soccer teams — men’s, women’s and youth — unifying players under one cohesive, visual identity for the first time. In some ways, the curvy red and white stripes have a similarly bold, visual language to those scattered stars of the Adidas 1994 shirt.

Rather than legacy, Handy says design becomes aninfinite loop: iconic styles becoming part of the visual canon, to be drawn from in perpetuity.

This summer, that loop closes on home soil. Major League Soccer, founded in 1993 as part of the US’ bid to host its first World Cup the following year, has helped the sport reportedly overtake baseball as America’s third favorite sport, according to a survey by The Economist. The World Cup returns not to a country where professional soccer is a novelty, but to one that has quietly, irreversibly, made the game its own.

USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams put the stakes plainly: “I want to have that kit you look back at in 30 years and you’re like, that’s still the best one.” This summer, someone in the crowd will be wearing a vintage jersey from 1994 or a reissue, while others will be wearing updated ones designed to be coveted decades later.

Inside the collar of Belgium’s Adidas away shirt, a hidden line of text aptly reads: “Ceci n’est pas un maillot.” This is not a jersey. Well, not just a jersey anymore.

CNN

Sports

Ayari didn’t celebrate out of respect for Tunisia, his father’s homeland.

Yasin Ayari was the star of the show as Sweden hammered Tunisia 5-1 in their FIFA World Cup opener.

The Brighton midfielder produced a man of the match display(Isak won the award officially), scoring twice and running the game from midfield. His first goal was an absolute thunderbolt and could already be a contender for goal of the tournament. Yet what caught many viewers by surprise was what happened next. Ayari chose not to celebrate.

The reason lies in his deep connection to Tunisia.

Why Ayari refused to celebrate

Ayari’s father, Azzouz, is Tunisian, meaning the midfielder was playing against the country of his family’s roots. Out of respect for Tunisia and his heritage, he kept his emotions in check after opening the scoring with a spectacular strike.

His first goal was not the only highlight of the evening. Deep into injury time, Ayari produced another stunning effort to complete his brace and put the finishing touch on Sweden’s dominant performance. This time there was no holding back. The Brighton midfielder celebrated with his teammates after finding the net for a second time, with the result already beyond doubt at 5-1.

His connection to Tunisia runs even deeper. The Tunisian Football Federation approached Ayari about switching international allegiance in 2021 and the player was reportedly interested in representing the North African nation.

According to journalist Ben Jacobs, it was his father who convinced him to stay with Sweden.

“My son wanted to play for Tunisia, but I asked him to represent Sweden instead, as it is the country that welcomed and developed him. It was his duty to give something back,” Azzouz later told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.

Morocco could also have laid claim to Ayari, with his mother hailing from the newly crowned Africa Cup of Nations champions. Instead, the midfielder ultimately chose Sweden, the country where he was born and developed as a footballer.

Even Tunisia head coach Sabri Lamouchi spoke warmly about the player before the tournament.

“I know him and his brother. He made a choice, I have a lot of respect, and he’s a very good player,” Lamouchi said.

Sweden run riot in World Cup opener

On the pitch, Sweden were relentless from start to finish.

Ayari’s early brilliance set the tone before Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres added further goals. Omar Rekik briefly gave Tunisia hope when he pulled one back, but the North Africans never looked capable of mounting a comeback.

Mattias Svanberg got on the scoresheet in the second half before Ayari completed his brace in stoppage time with another spectacular strike.

It was also a miserable evening for Tunisia’s goalkeeper, who endured a difficult night marked by costly mistakes and questionable positioning as Sweden repeatedly exposed the defence.

The 5-1 victory represents Sweden’s biggest World Cup win since 1938 and puts them in a commanding position in Group F.

Sports

Muheim own goal gives Qatar dramatic draw with Switzerland

Qatar celebrated their first World Cup point in a 1-1 draw against Switzerland after Miro Muheim headed in a stoppage-time own goal to send the Gulf nation into jubilation. Muheim, under pressure from Boualem Khoukhi, inadvertently headed home Homam Ahmed’s cross on 94 minutes to cancel out a first-half Breel Embolo penalty, leaving the Swiss stunned and rueful after failing to convert 26 goal attempts to Qatar’s seven.

The result left Group B wide open, with all teams locked on a point each following the co-hosts Canada’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Qatar will be easily the most pleased among them, four years after their 2022 debut fell flat with a winless elimination on home soil. The entire Qatar squad stormed on to the pitch in ecstasy after the hapless Muheim sent his header fizzing by his own goalkeeper, Gregor Kobel, giving the Spaniard Julen Lopetegui a landmark result coaching his first World Cup match.

“We achieved one dream when we arrived here, to be here, and now today is another little dream,” Lopetegui told reporters. “And we have the right to continue having the dream.” Lopetegui was due to coach Spain at the 2018 finals but lost the job when it was revealed he had agreed to join Real Madrid after the tournament.

Qatar’s goalkeeper, Mahmoud Abunada, was also naturally thrilled, having fouled Remo Freuler to hand the Swiss their 17th-minute penalty. “This is the first point in the history of the Qatari national team. Praise be to God in all circumstances,” said Abunada. “Honestly, the match was played with great determination from everyone. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds.”

Switzerland may feel the footballing gods deserted them, though, having seen chance after chance go begging, with Dan Ndoye particularly wasteful in the first half.

It was all set up for the group favourites, though, when Abunada smashed into Freuler in the six-yard box. Freuler ran on to a header by Embolo in the area, dinked the ball goalwards past Abunada and was met heavily by the keeper, who came off second best in the clash.

The Honduran referee, Saíd Martínez, pointed straight at the spot but it took a long video assistant referee check to confirm the penalty while a prone Abunada – booked for the challenge – was attended to by medical staff. Freuler appeared to the naked eye to be offside when Embolo headed the ball forward and Fifa did not release images justifying the decision to rule him

While Michel Aebischer racked up a sixth Swiss shot on goal, stopped on the line deep into first-half stoppage time, Qatar’s attackers were left with scraps. The Asian champions’ dangerman Akram Afif was well-shackled but found space down the flank late in the half to set up Edmilson for a first-time shot saved by Kobel.

With Qatar camped in rows in front of goal, the match meandered in the second half and a raft of substitutions on both sides of the drinks interval did nothing to break the stasis. That was until Ahmed sent in the sumptuous cross which Khoukhi attacked and Muheim converted to snatch the draw, leaving clumps of Qataris jumping in the stands.

Switzerland may still fancy their chances of getting out of the group but the road ahead is rockier and their inability to seal the win will be a concern for coach Murat Yakin. They face Bosnia and Herzegovina at Los Angeles Stadium on Thursday, while Qatar, who defended doggedly to thwart the classy Swiss, head north to meet Canada in Vancouver on the same day.

Despite the official attendance of 67,966, there were banks of empty seats at the 70,000-seat home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers even if the crowd reached to the highest stands. Red-clad Swiss were out in force as the team’s captain, Granit Xhaka, and the veteran full-back Ricardo Rodriguez moved past Xherdan Shaqiri in their record 13th World Cup appearance for the nation, with only the late goal spoiling their milestone match.

The Guardian

Sports

How to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup in UAE

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner meaning football fans in the UAE need to prepare for a summer of late nights and early mornings.

While not having free-to-air World Cup coverage, the UAE will still have full access to every single match through beIN SPORTS, the official broadcaster for the Middle East and North Africa region. That means all 104 games will be shown live, but via subscription-based platforms.

There are a few ways fans can tune in with the most traditional option through a beIN SPORTS satellite subscription, which delivers dedicated World Cup channels straight to your TV.

For those who prefer streaming, beIN CONNECT offers live coverage on mobile, laptop and smart TV devices. Meanwhile, TOD by beIN has become a popular standalone streaming option, giving fans more flexibility to follow the action without needing a full satellite package.

What time do the games kick-off in UAE?

With the tournament being hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, spanning multiple time zones, matches will follow a structured daily rhythm designed for global audiences, but it isn’t so helpful for UAE fans.

During the group stage, the matches will most frequently rotate through the following set of kick-off windows:

11:00 PM GST
2:00 AM GST
5:00 AM GST
8:00–11:00 AM GST

It means fans in the Emirates will get a real mix of late night and sunrise football. Whether it’s gathering with friends late at night or catching highlights over morning coffee, the World Cup will be part of daily life across the country for a month-long stretch.

While the absence of free-to-air coverage means viewers need a subscription to follow every match, the upside is complete access to the entire tournament in one place, with full coverage, analysis, and dedicated World Cup programming across beIN’s platforms.

And of course, football in the UAE rarely stays behind closed doors. Across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and beyond, fans can expect packed sports bars, fan zones, and public screenings throughout the tournament, creating that shared World Cup atmosphere that brings people together no matter who they support.

So, whether you’re watching at 11pm, 2am or even grabbing a quick nap before a 5am kick-off, one thing is certain, the World Cup is set to take over life in the UAE once again.