Another summer packed full of international tournament action continues with the UEFA Women’s European Championship in Switzerland, which kicks off in July 2.
For the third time since the format was expanded, there are 16 competing nations involved across four groups, with reigning champions England out defend the title they won on home soil in 2022’s pandemic-delayed tournament. Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses are once again among the favorites to lift the trophy when the final is played on July 27, alongside past winners Germany and Netherlands, as well as reigning world champions Spain.
However, for all the talent on show and the focus on tactics, stats and form, there is one question that matters above all else before the first ball is kicked: who will be the best-dressed team to take to the pitches of Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Thun and Sion next month?
In order to crown the champions (at least in the sartorial stakes), we have cast a discerning eye over the home and away kits being worn by all 16 countries at Euro 2025 in order to rate, and where applicable, slate the various designs on display.
This year’s tournament will feature kits inspired by everything from traditional textile art and national symbolism, to railway infrastructure and plant seed repositories. But which Euro 2025 nation has the best combination of tournament attire? Let’s find out …
Home: They may be Poland’s national colors, worn with great pride, but honestly: how many times can you pump out a near-identical set of kits — one red, one white — without getting horrendously bored by the monotony of it all? The home shirt is white with red trim. There are no prizes on offer for guessing what the away kit looks like.
Away: Correct. It’s red, with white trim. However, the Poland away shirt does have a very faint “digital dot” graphic woven into the fabric that is almost mind-blowingly experimental in comparison to the cookie-cutter home variant.
15. Sweden (Adidas)
Home: The pleasant, pale yellow of the home shirt is supposed to encapsulate the warm glow of the sun’s rays as it rises high above the land on Midsummer’s Day. It certainly still looks fresh a year after launch. The heliocentric theme continues with the orbital ribbing that radiates out from the national crest.
Away: Intended as a representation of “Scandi” minimalism, the satin-finish blue away kit doesn’t have much more decoration beyond its pale yellow trim, and the palette looks a little washed out. The design also acts as a counterpoint to the home kit. The dark ripple effect that emanates from the center of the torso brings to mind those long nights of the Nordic winter.
14. Wales (Adidas)
Home: Inspired by the dragon found on their national flag, Wales’ home kit is blood red and has serpentine, fang-shaped licks of trim picked out in white and green down each side. Very smart. Very Welsh.
Away: Wales’ bespoke Euro 2025 away kit has an unusual source of inspiration in the form of the traditional Welsh Love Spoon — carved wooden items with an entwined handle that are often given as tokens of affection. The pale green plaits cross on the front of the shirt, while the lilac trim provides a pleasing contrast.
Home: The tournament hosts will be wearing a fairly traditional ensemble, stepping out in a two-tone red jersey with darker collars and cuffs providing contract. The fabric of the jersey has also been imbued with a little extra national pride in the way of small crosses (taken from the national flag) as well as floral emblems found in traditional Swiss textile art.
Away: What might look like a plain white jersey actually bears a graphic that is inspired by Europe’s highest railway station, Jungfraujoch, which is situated 11,332 feet above sea level. The print is quite faint, but the pale blue-and-grey contour lines do become visible on the snowy white background from certain angles.
Home: We’d frankly expect nothing less from the Danes than an elegant Hummel kit with chevrons on the shoulders and all other flounce and finery kept to a strict minimum. The refined design’s broad stripes and neat fold-over collar offer a certain pinch of 1980s nostalgia.
Away: Denmark’s away kit is equally minimalist, with a pristine white base decorated only with red chevrons on the shoulders and a thin band of red around the collar and sleeve cuffs. There’s not an awful lot more to get your teeth into, but that superb “DBU” Danish FA crest always adds an extra style point to any design. Take note, Poland: this is how you do “one red, one white.”
Home: Netherlands have given their iconic orange an overhaul for Euro 2025 thanks to a graphic that is inspired by the abstract “micro dot” art movement that swept the country in the 1990s. The pattern lends a sheen effect to the material (i.e. makes it look a bit plasticky) but the real star here is that wonderful three-color collar.
Away: Two colors were all that were needed to pull together Netherlands’ away kit, which is sky blue and black. It’s all very perfunctory, but the ribbing adds much-needed texture and the three-color detail reappears in reduced form on the collar to help lift the overall result.
Home: Both of Finland’s new kits for 2025 were designed in collaboration with artist Klaus Haapaniemi, who is known for his decorative illustrations and textile art inspired by the flora and fauna of his home nation. The home shirt is predominantly white, but the central blue stripe contains an interesting pattern designed by Haapaniemi based on traditional Suomi folk art.
Away: The matching blue away shirt features the same Haapaniemi pattern, but this time enlarged to show the intricate details up close, revealing the owl at the center of the design surrounded by hand-carved indigenous symbols.
Home: The familiar red, white and blue are present as ever but Norway’s home shirt is elevated above the standard fare by the application of some lovely, delicate cuff taping inspired by traditional methods of knitting and garment making.
Away: The away kit is inspired by the contemporary architecture of the renowned Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a scientific facility that houses millions of specimens from around the world in order to safeguard the planet’s crop diversity. The triangular graphic is a nod to the Seed Vault’s concrete entrance, which juts ominously out of the snowy cliffside like some ancient alien obelisk.
8. Spain (Adidas)
Home: Perhaps not the most riveting Spain kit of all time, but the 2024-25 home shirt is certainly vibrant enough to capture the energy and passion of the reigning world champions. As well as the oversaturated red and yellow palette, the jersey also has a light wave pattern running through the fabric to add a little more detail to what is ostensibly a rather plain design.
Away: Awash with gentle pink and blue pastel shades, Spain’s away kit is directly inspired by the Cubism movement of the 20th Century made famous by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Maria Blanchard. As such, the shirt is divided by abstract lines and capped off by the placement of an artsy, angular footballer figure on the back of the neck.
Home: Deep red — and with retro-tinged trim in black, white and dark green beneath the arms — Portugal’s revamped home kit features a wavy graphic inspired by the Quinas, the group of shields found both on the Portuguese coat of arms and on the football federation’s cross-shaped crest.
Away: Never shy to try something a little unusual with their away kits, the Seleccao‘s 2025 vintage is presented as a visual depiction of “the intersection of art, technology and football found in modern-day Portugal” with a white base overlaid by multiple fractal patterns in mint green and blushed red. The result is quite mesmeric.
6. Italy (Adidas)
Home: Italy’s home kit is classic fare with all the necessary elements required to create a shirt that is dripping in Azzurri style without attempting anything too wild or imaginative. The rich blue base and tonal pinstriping are easy on the eye and that green, white and red tricolore trim is just perfection.
Away: The away shirt has a cool mint green print that is supposedly inspired by the veneration of the natural world found in countless works of Renaissance art. Designed to look like foliage, the floral shapes form a gentle camouflage pattern that covers the front and back of the jersey while the delicate “Italia” script on the back ties it all together nicely.
Home: Inspired by the majestic glaciers of their homeland, Iceland’s home shirt certainly conjures the image. A deep, frosty blue base, a swirled graphic, and flashes of vivid red trim represent the volcanic activity that smolders beneath the harsh, island terrain.
Away: Continuing the theme of natural splendor, Iceland’s away kit is a tribute to the neon ribbons of the Northern Lights, which ripple through the night sky during the winter and spring months and attract thousands of tourists to the country each year. The pale pinks and blues lend a gentle aura to the design.
Home: Coming in as defending European champions, perhaps the most notable aspect of England’s new home kit is the large colored panel on the front, which sees the royal blue neckline morph into a band of bright red across the chest with a watery wash effect. A little more garish than their past few home jerseys, but that’s no bad thing in our book.
Away: Inky black with vivid neon flashes, the Lionesses’ away shirt is color contrast done right. A sleek dark base highlighted by tasteful waves of blue, pink and red down the sides. The national crest is also rendered in a cool turquoise hue to provide that little extra flourish.
Home: Germany will be donning their utterly fabulous anniversary kit for the European Championship. A classic, pared-down monotone retro design that serves as a fitting tribute to mark the 125th year of the Germany national team and the foundation of their football federation (DfB). The fabric has a jacquard pattern that features both subtle pinstripes and the famous eagle found on the DfB crest. Sehr, sehr schön [very, very beautiful].
Away: The away kit is inspired by the graffiti and street art that peppers the walls of almost every German city. The daubs of red and pink are supposed to resemble jets of paint from an aerosol can and the word “Deutschland” is sprayed like a tag across the back of the collar. Not one of their finest efforts, but it stands out.
Home: A lovely design that serves as an homage both to the origins of the Belgian Football Association and to the country’s long tradition of producing luxury luggage. A slightly muddled conceptual combo, but the design still comes together nicely with a deep, almost wine-like hue and a classy repeating diamond motif in the material that features the emblematic crown of the Royal Belgian FA.
Away: The accompanying away kit is informed by the kind of abstract geometric patterns that emerged in Belgian art from the 1920s onwards. The splendid yellow base has an understated graphic that is picked out with flashes of red and orange. The look is then completed with the application of the word “Belgium” stamped across the back of the collar in a fiery custom typeface.
Home: Once again, France have ensured that they will look ultra stylish with a batch of brand-new, high-art kits. The home shirt is an optical illusion or “Trompe l’œil” [deceiving the eye], and has an unusual speckled texture to encourage a closer look. There is also a nod to one of the staples of Gallic fashion with the inclusion of a classic Col Claudine blouse collar, popular in Paris and beyond since the beginning of the 20th Century.
Away: France’s new away jersey is a salute to the enduring elegance of champagne, that most sophisticated of sparkling white wines. Presumably designed to encourage the deployment of champagne football at the tournament, the shirt has a central crest, intricate vine-inspired ribbing in the material and a rather alluring asymmetrical collar.
Source link