The 10 best France World Cup kits of all time

In many ways, the 2018 Home shirt was nothing special. The light blue soundwaves on each sleeve were the only real adornment for an otherwise simple dark blue shirt.

Put a number 10 on the back, though, and it becomes something else. Then it brings the memories of 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé driving France to victory, scoring the goals that knocked out Argentina before putting the icing on the cake with France’s last goal as they won their second-ever World Cup. Not bad for a teenager.

The 2022 World Cup is, so far, going pretty well for France. As well as making it to the final again, they’ve also done well in the kit stakes.

For this year’s away shirt, the nation combines its traditional change colours – white with a blue trim – with an intricate pattern inspired by Toile de Jouy prints and celebrating a whole range of French landmarks.

So far, it hasn’t got a look in at the tournament, and it almost definitely won’t in the final, but it's a banger nonetheless.

For another take on the otherwise traditional away shirt, France combined the white and blue shirt with subtle horizontal stripes. The extra detail of the shirt came through the unconventional collar, with a three-button fastening combined with a crew neck.

The air of formality for the kit was only heightened by France’s new stripped-back crest, which was worn for the first time at the Brazil tournament.

There is no beating around the bush. France’s 2006 away shirt will always be associated with one iconic moment in World Cup history: the Zidane headbutt.

Much like the ending of Zidane’s career, it’s unfair for this shirt to get lost in his moment of madness because it’s one of France’s best.

The white base is combined with a red and blue trim, while the standout feature is the gradient that runs across the chest, turning from light blue to bright red.

While the 2022 away shirt combines a classic base with an unconventional pattern, this year’s home shirt is reassuringly simple.

France and Nike have gone for a standard dark blue and a single-button collar. The shirt’s simplicity is undoubtedly part of the point, but the real highlight is the use of metallic gold detailing – the only real extra feature on the shirt.

The navy blue is the perfect base to make the gold stand out, reminding any opposition that they’re up against the reigning champions.

On the road to arguably France’s most famous victory, they only wore their away shirt once.

In all the stories of the victorious 1998 World Cup campaign, the kit can sometimes be overlooked. Part of its appeal comes from the way it dovetails with the historic home shirt, acting as the perfect counter to it by reversing the colours – the blue base became white, the red stripe became blue, and the white stripes became red.

It was a simple formula, but it worked.

In keeping with the formality of that year’s away kit, France also went for a smart home shirt.

The blue used was darker than usual, and it was contrasted with a stark white collar. Finishing off the design was an extended placket and the newly-simplified crest.

The overall design made it one of the cleanest shirts France had ever released, although they only made it to the quarter finals before being knocked out by Germany, so it hasn’t gone down as a classic.

1982 should’ve been Michel Platini’s year. After a disappointing showing in ‘78, he was made the national team captain and scored an inspirational goal that helped France qualify.

In the end, it wasn’t to be, and West Germany knocked out France in one of the World Cup’s most famous games. Platini was named in the tournament’s All-Star XI, and a year later would win his first Ballon d’Or, but he had no World Cup medal to go with it.

Some sort of silver lining should come in the team’s home shirt, particularly in the way it alternated white and red pinstripes.

France’s 2010 World Cup campaign is arguably its worst ever, taking only one point as the whole team collapsed amongst the internal politics.

That said, their away kit – worn only once, in an opening game draw with Uruguay – is undoubtedly one of the best the team has ever played in.

France looked back into the archive for the kit, and mixed their usual white base with the same red and blue alternating pinstripes. Finishing touches, such as red, white and blue adidas Three Stripes and subtle gold trim, helped to improve the design even more

Cometh the hour, cometh the shirt. 1998’s home shirt has gone down as a classic because of France’s victory in the tournament and for what it represented for the country.

That said, the design of the shirt isn’t bad either. The thick red stripe and three thin white stripes are the statement details of the shirt, while the collar and sleeves are also adorned with a tricolour pattern.

As well as setting the standard for France’s future World Cup performances, 1998 also set the standard for France’s World Cup kit designs.