Why Ivory Coast can have three stars on their jersey even though they haven’t won the World Cup
Ivory Coast has three stars above their badge on their jerseys, even though they have never won the World Cup. As one of Africa’s top football teams, they’ve played in four World Cups so far. They’re back in the 2026 tournament after missing out for 12 years. Unfortunately, in all their World Cup appearances, Ivory Coast has never made it past the group stage. Even with stars like Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, they were knocked out early in 2006, 2010, and 2014.
Coach Emerse Fae’s team hopes to change that this time in North America. They started well by beating Ecuador thanks to a late goal from Manchester United’s Amad Diallo.
The three stars on their shirts actually celebrate their three Africa Cup of Nations wins. Usually, stars show World Cup victories—like Brazil’s five stars or England’s one for their 1966 win. But Ivory Coast uses theirs to honor their success in African competitions. Egypt does the same, proudly wearing seven stars for their record in the tournament. Interestingly, neither country had stars on their shirts during this World Cup.
Switching to Uruguay, they wore four stars when they drew 1-1 on Monday and will keep them for the rest of the games. Uruguay has won two World Cups (1930 and 1950), but their four stars also represent gold medals they won in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics—before official World Cups existed.
Brazil started the trend of adding stars to jerseys back in 1974, and many teams followed. Uruguay added their stars in 1992. The Uruguay Football Association explained in 2021 that the four stars stand for their Olympic and World Cup wins. After a FIFA employee questioned this, AUF provided proof from historians and got FIFA to back down. Since then, Uruguay has proudly worn their four stars in both the 2022 and 2026 World Cups.
This year, FIFA introduced new patches to celebrate World Cup achievements. The seven countries that have won the World Cup each have a special gold patch. Players like Harry Kane, James Rodriguez, and Kylian Mbappé have patches for winning the Golden Boot. There are also patches for teams making their first World Cup, players winning the Golden Ball or Golden Glove awards, and those who have played in at least five World Cups.