The funny reason why England wears white
England made a small kit change for their first World Cup game
People are just starting to understand why England wears white, a tradition that goes way back to the 19th century. The Three Lions will keep their World Cup journey going on Tuesday when they face Ghana in Group L at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
It’s been confirmed that Thomas Tuchel’s team will wear their classic white home shirts and socks, just like they did in their 4-2 win over Croatia on June 17, since FIFA has marked this game as a home match. Meanwhile, Jordan Pickford will switch up his kit and wear all blue instead of the all-yellow outfit he had in last week’s first game.
So, why does England wear white? The team has used an all-white kit since their very first international game against Scotland at the West of Scotland Cricket Club in 1872. That day, Scotland wore a full navy kit, with their 11 players actually dressed in their club uniforms during a boring 0-0 draw. Because of this, England had to wear a different color so the teams could be told apart. The FA gave England white kits, which might have been extra cricket tops.
After that match, England didn’t always stick to white right away. At times, they just put the England badge on their club kits, and for a while, players wore white-collared shirts with their own club shorts and socks. But by the late 1800s, the press wanted a consistent look, and England mostly wore white shirts, navy shorts, and white socks. The navy shorts were chosen, they say, to stand out from Germany’s all-white outfit.
In recent years, there have been some changes, like white shorts in 2009 and red shorts in 2012, but mostly, England sticks to these colors today. As mentioned, England wore their home kit in the first Group L match, but with a small change from the shirts they used in warm-up games. Earlier this year, the numbers were placed under the Nike logo on the right chest, which confused some fans because the promo pictures showed the numbers in the middle of the shirt. This was fixed for the opener against Croatia, with numbers moved back to the center, just like the promotional images.