The Lionesses' away shirt is the best England kit of all time

18 August 2023 , 15:45

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Alex Greenwood in the England away shirt (Image: Getty Images)

We all love a good World Cup just as much as we all love a good England run in a World Cup, but we all especially love a good England World Cup shirt.

Over the years we've seen some lovely efforts for the men's England team. There is that 1997/98 away shirt with its alarming red and overly pronounced collar that brings to mind Michael Owen and Alan Shearer. There's the glorious nostalgic 1990-1993 home shirt mostly made famous by Gazza's tears, who could forget that irresistible blue shimmer of the third shirt of 1990?

That Umbro diamond patterned kit, more famous for being worn by New Order in the World in Motion video, is a jersey that still lives in most fans' memories and is a Holy Grail for many collectors, to the point where modern versions were incredibly popular during recent Men's team tournaments. However it's worth mentioning that the particular gorgeous effort was never actually worn at Italia 90 and sadly worn just once against Turkey in 1991.

Without getting too carried away in the headrush and excitement of an actual England team reaching an actual World Cup Final, I think the latest blue shirt for the Lionesses is this is arguably the best England shirt ever, worn by the men or women's teams.

If my list of favoured England shirts over the years feels unfairly weighted toward the men's shirts, it's worth remembering that, rather shockingly, the Women's European Championships in 2022 marked the first tournament where England Women had worn a kit solely designed for them, rather than wearing the same design at the men's team.

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Why is it the best and does any other kit rival it? Of course. The England men's away shirt for 2020 was a beauty, but the collar is where it falls down slightly, while England's truly astounding and sleek red away shirt from 1966 is also so iconic it's hard to argue against it, yet I'm going to do that anyway.

(Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Chris Burns