The Copa America starts on Thursday and while there is lots of exciting football that needs to be previewed we are going to start with the most important thing of all: the jerseys.
Brazil and Argentina are obviously the favourites on the pitch, but the beauty of the sartorial battle is that every team has a chance. That being said, of the 12 teams competing in this year’s tournament, not all of the jerseys are equally pleasing on the eye.
We critically evaluated each effort, and ranked them from worst to first.
12. Ecuador
Ecuador’s jersey is a perfect marriage of an ugly colour and an uninspired design. A real eyesore, you will need some sort of protective goggles if you ever encounter its ghastliness in person.
11. Bolivia
Very bland and traditional… where is the Latin flair?
10. Colombia
Colombia are being penalised heavily in this ranking for deviating so drastically from what was a smashing jersey at the 2014 World Cup. Adidas greed has robbed us of a lovely strip.
9. Paraguay
You could start designing the Paraguay jersey at 4.55pm on a Friday evening and be done before you finish your shift at 5pm.
8. Jamaica
Not a bad jersey but the supersized crest and strange position of the number is particularly jarring.
7. Peru
Strong primary colours from the Peruvians and the racing stripe is a nice touch.
6. Chile
Unlike Colombia, Chile have benefited from keeping a similar style to the one that looked nice in the World Cup. Also one-upped Peru by adding a second stripe.
5. Venezuela
You could definitely be forgiven if this is the first time you have ever seen a Venezuela jersey. But it is a pleasant surprise, isn’t it?
4. Brazil
Whoever invented Y-necks is a disgraceful human being who deserves to be ostracised from mainstream society or at the very least, made wear a bell. On a related note, the inclusion of a Y-neck is what keeps Brazil out of the top 3.
3. Uruguay
This light blue colour is an old classic but there is a reason Uruguay haven’t changed the tint in about 80 years – it works.
2. Mexico
Technically, this is Mexico’s alternate strip but it is such a nice variation on their regular jersey that it warrants such a lofty spot here.
1. Argentina
They only managed a second place finish at last year’s World Cup but topping this ranking no doubt makes up for that heartbreak. The clean blue and white lines are almost as nice to see as their football.
Which jersey do you think is the best among the Copa America participants?
