Sadly we’ve seen the last of Australia at the 2019 Women’s World Cup after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Norway on Saturday night.
Having lost their first game to Italy, the Aussie girls gave us some of the moments of the tournament in their retro-fuelled tribute to KingRoo’s “spew” shirts from the early 1990s.
With sweeping green and white brush-strokes across a sunshine yellow canvas, the kits are indirectly inspired by the Hosier Lane street-art district of Melbourne, but there’s more than enough DNA from those “so bad they’re good” Socceroos shirts for football kit connoisseurs to applaud.
Nike’s abstract Australian shirts starred in the Matildas’ comeback victory over Brazil as they showed steely grit and determination to overcome a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in Montpellier.
Australia then wore their dark green away shirts in the shadow of the French Alps, as star-striker Samantha Kerr scored all the Matildas goals in a 4-1 victory over Jamaica.
Unfortunately, Australia’s World Cup campaign was ended by Norway who will now face England in the quarter-finals.
Australia’s Matildas have qualified for each World Cup since 1995, but this is perhaps the first time their own shirts have garnered so much attention.
With more individual graphic design flair than you’ll see in most Premier League seasons, you’ll need to forgive our excitement for the Women’s World Cup kits.
History is being made in France, and in years to come, maybe the idea that female footballers should have their own kits might not be such a radical move.
Sartorial Soccer 