As if the World Cup isn’t generating enough headline-worthy moments on the pitch — the opening game featured three red cards, and on June 14, Germany beat Curaçao 7-1 before Belgium put five past Tunisia — the players are making arguably even more noise off the pitch with their surprisingly elaborate outfits. 

This includes individual moments of brilliance, like Antonio Rüdiger’s custom Under Armour x 424 leather jacket in the style of a jersey and Jules Koundé tucking his vintage jeans into leather cowboy boots at France’s training camp. It also includes players turning up in Salehe Bembury’s “disruptive” PUMA outfits and Nike’s big-name World Cup collaborations. But wildest of all is the tailoring.  

When Spain announced a few weeks ago that its squad is now wearing suits by LOEWE, including a playful blazer where the sleeve includes a fake shirt cuff, it was reflective of teams pushing their tailoring into new, experimental places for the 2026 World Cup. 

Côte d'Ivoire really raised the bar, with the West African nation showing up to the tournament in suits from the local fashion house Ibrahim Fernandez Couture. Its players stepped off the plane in all-white ensembles of mandarin collar shirts and wide-leg pants atop which their collarless orange blazers really popped. Each custom-tie-dyed blazer was accented by elephant-shaped buttons and an embroidered elephant covering the back reinterpreting the country’s coat of arms. 

These certainly aren’t the conservative black suits or team-mandated tracksuits we’re used to seeing squads wear. And the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who’ve reached the World Cup for the first time since 1974, is clearly also uninterested in sticking with the status quo. 

The Congolese suits, designed by Alvin Junior Mak in line with the country's subculture of working-class dandies known as “Sapuers,” are traditional in the sense that they’re all-black and paired with a white shirt. However, they’re transformed by an oversized leopard-print lapel curving around the front of the blazer, paired with a large matching bag. 

And this is all before every nation has even played its first game. Finally, World Cup-worthy style.

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