"Like a Bloodstained Shirt": South Korea's Uniform Ranked 40th Out of 48 by International Media

The Athletic Gives a "Bit Much" Review, Contrasting with ESPN
Ranks South Korea's World Cup Home Kit 38th, Away Kit 40th

The South Korean national football team's 2026 North and Central America World Cup uniform received harsh criticism in reviews by overseas sports media. This reaction stands in stark contrast to the positive evaluation previously given by ESPN.

This is a photo of Son Heung-min wearing the South Korean national football team uniform. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On June 9 (local time), American sports media outlet The Athletic ranked the home and away uniforms of the 48 countries participating in the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. South Korea ranked 38th for its home uniform and 40th for its away uniform.

The Athletic’s response is the opposite of ESPN’s, which had previously given the Korean uniform a positive review. In the rankings of uniform designs released by ESPN, South Korea's away uniform placed 21st and its home uniform 35th. Regarding the home uniform, ESPN commented, "It was inspired by tigers and their ambush hunting abilities," adding, "We hope the fur pattern featuring red and black infuses the national team with the tiger’s ruthless attacking power."

In contrast, The Athletic offered a blunt critique. The outlet stated, "To my eyes, it doesn’t look like camouflage." It continued, "It looks like someone who just came from a dramatic crime scene, still wearing a blood-stained shirt. Sometimes a dramatic design works, but this uniform is a bit much," it pointed out.

This is an image of a Korean uniform featuring a light purple color and floral pattern design. Screenshot from the Nike homepage.

The away uniform also did not receive favorable reviews. South Korea’s away kit features a light purple tone with a floral motif. The outlet noted, "It’s a good attempt, as there aren’t many football uniforms that use floral patterns," but added, "It looks like the sort of T-shirt someone working at a handcrafted sandwich shop in East London might wear, half as a joke."

The criticism continued regarding the color. The Athletic commented, "It’s very hard to make a successful purple football uniform. To succeed, it should be closer to the deep purple reminiscent of Fiorentina, but the purple on Korea’s kit is too pale." The review concluded, "It’s an ambitious attempt, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark."

Praise for Japan’s Away Uniform... Ghana Home Kit Ranked No. 1

Unlike South Korea, Japan’s white away uniform received positive feedback. The Athletic described Japan’s kit as "a truly wonderful design. It uses familiar patterns but introduces enough variation to keep it interesting."

Ghana took first place in the home uniform rankings. The Athletic commented on Ghana’s uniform, "Although most of Puma’s designs this year weren’t particularly exciting, that assessment doesn’t apply to Ghana’s kit. It looks like a giant, multicolored spider web—and it actually is." Brazil and England followed in second and third place, respectively.

Meanwhile, South Korea will wear its home uniform in the Group A first match against the Czech Republic and the third match against South Africa. The team is set to wear its away uniform in the second match against Mexico.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.