Turkey 1994-96 Home, matchworn Uğur Dağdelen v U21s
Turkey 1996-97 Home
Turkey 2016-17 Home, match prepared Oğuzhan Özyakup?

One of Adidas’ stranger 90’s templates, if only Turkey started with a V… The fabric of the shirt is printed with the classic 3-stripes all over, and they return on both shirts of the logo  in a claw—like (or just a V) pattern. They frame the logos well, particularly the Turkey one, but the pattern has always looked a little strange to me. The front is dramatic, if nothing else, and the printed material make it nice enough, but it isn’t spectacular.

Needing only top 2 for Euro 1996 qualifying (assuming one of the best 2^nd places), Turkey traded 2-1 away wins with Switzerland while also beating Sweden, Hungary and Iceland in Turkey. 3 away draws were not particularly helpful, 2-2 in both Sweden and Hungary, but results elsewhere were good enough and the format discounted the draw against Iceland for 2^nd place qualifiers, leaving them in a good enough place to qualify directly!

One of the classic Adidas templates here. Very striking with the black emphasis on the white “teeth” contrasting sharply with the red of the shirt. The material is patterned, both with the obvious stripes and many, more subtle, moon and stars as per the flag. Very much all at once, you can’t help but take the entire shirt in. The little detail like the collar not being totally plain and the pattern extending to the back of the sleeves does add even more to it though. Might be hard to praise a template, but Adidas were once really solid with them.

These shirts were used in their Euros debut in 1996 where they’d qualified as one of the best runners-up. Drawn in a tricky group with Portugal, Croatia and Denmark, Turkey were not expected to escape the group. 1-0 losses to Portugal and Croatia were followed up with a 3-0 loss to Denmark, sending them out without even a goal scored. A sad end to their debut, but they were not embarrassed.

Is there anything more to this next shirt than the pattern? No, not really, but it is a nice pattern. A wide black grid pattern starts from the top of the shirt and gets denser and denser as you go down the shirt. Definitely a nice way of adding something interesting to the shirt. Black stripes down the sides are about the only other talking point and how long can you talk about them? They’re stripes!

Drawn in one of those tricky groups for 2018 World Cup qualification, Turkey used this shirt to try and reach their first World Cup since 2002. With the teams all taking points off each other, Turkey ended up falling short of Iceland, Croatia and Ukraine, only beating out Finland and Kosovo. Good home form, dropping points in a 2-2 draw with Ukraine and a 3-0 loss to Iceland, was followed up by poor away form. They only beat Kosovo away, drawing with Finland and Croatia and therefore fell 5 points short of the play-offs.

Competitive and on the fringes of tournaments tends to be Turkey’s lot in life. Since the mid 90’s they’ve won around half of their qualifiers, varying a little each time out. 5 Euros qualifications, first in 1996, have brought knockout football in 2000 and 2008. 2020 could bring more success! They first qualified for a World Cup in 1950, but withdrew like several other teams. 1954 brought a brutal group against Hungary, West Germany (the two finalists) and an outmatched South Korea that scarred them so much they didn’t return until 2002, where, despite an uninspiring group stage, they edged their way to the semi-finals and ended up finishing 3^rd! A variety of minor tournaments in earlier years brought a moderate amount of success in the Balkans and Mediterranean. In the Nations League they’ve been League B both of the first seasons and finished bottom in both, failing to convert narrow results into wins. However immediate promotion from league c is a hopeful sign.

Still, could be worse, the women’s side has had some serious struggles. Regularly found at or near the bottom of qualifying groups they’ve even slipped into preliminary qualifiers. They’ve only twice failed to pick up at least 1 win though, regularly fighting hard to avoid being last in their groups, and can’t be considered amongst the bottom of Europe. For men’s youth football, Turkey have a mixture of success. The U21s have been to a solitary U21 Championship, exiting in the group stage, while the U19s and U17s have a much better record. 3 titles, 1 lost final and an additional 9 lost semi-finals show they have the skills to compete at that level, and fairly regularly. This has led to 3 World Cup appearances in each age band, even finishing 4^th in the 2005 U17 World Cup! Women’s youth football sees them typically ranked around the middle of UEFA’s active associations and they’ve reached the elite round a few times, though typically struggle there. Some very reasonable performances have come through though and they hosted the 2012 U19 Championships, respectably taking 2 draws and a 1-0 loss to bow out with only 2 goals conceded. No other championship appearances have come through and possibly are a little way away, but their future looks bright enough.

Late to the party for futsal, Turkey first started trying to qualify for 2010. They made it for 2012, though then lost their games and generally have struggled in the main qualifying round but have come fairly close to repeating their qualification again. They’ve proved their credentials, but nothing more to date, not quite making the inaugural U19 Futsal Championship. Beach soccer has also been a nice distraction, with Turkey being successful in Division B of the Euro Beach Soccer League, though struggling more in division A. Since proper qualification structures have been put in place, they not been to the World Cup, generally being more of a middling side, but they were at the 2001 cup, losing both group stage games to get sent home.

Expected to challenge for the play-offs, Turkey’s Nations League form was concerning, as were strong performances from the Netherlands and Norway. They opened with a home win over the Netherlands and an away win in Norway, which set them on the road to the play-offs. Home draws to Norway, Latvia and Montenegro were far from encouraging but results elsewhere (and some stat padding against Gibraltar) took them to the play-offs where they were drawn, to their misfortune, against Portugal and lost 3-1.

Tunisia 2018 Away

Togo 2008-09 Home

Timor-Leste 2015-18 Home

Thailand 2012 Home
Thailand 2014 Home
Thailand 2015 Home

First off, a great design by Grand Sport. We’ve got an arrowed pattern going down the line of the crest, which is nice. Three blue colours show up, with darker breathable material in the armpits, lighter rubberised material around them on the torso and the main blue. In addition we’ve got a load of gold accenting, a mini flag and a mini Thailand. All in all, there’s a lot to the shirt and it really does work.

Thailand love changing shirts and this one was used at the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup (or AFF Championship), where, as co-hosts, Thailand managed 2^nd place. 3-1 and 4-0 wins against Vietnam and Myanmar along with a narrow 2-1 win over Philippines led them comfortably into the knockouts where they struggled in the away legs. 1-1 and then 2-0 against Malaysia was good enough for the final but they could only follow a 3-1 loss in Singapore with a 1-0 home win to continue their title drought since 2002.

Next up is this gradient effect shirt using pretty much every shade of deep blue around. The badge is a rough rubberised design that’s very nice to the touch but otherwise the shirt is a bit disappointing. Two vertical stripes cut of the gradient effect a bit early and the collar is truly massive. However, we do have the same effect on the front and back, so that puts it above several more prominent nations. Overall, mixed feelings on this one.

The 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup/Championship saw this design in use, where they easily won their group, though all their wins were close, 2-1 v Singapore, 3-2 v Malaysia and 2-0 against Myanmar. This led them easily into the semi-finals where they dispatched the Philippines with a 3-0 home victory after a 0-0 away draw. Looking for their first championship since 2002, they came up against Malaysia again and edged them 4-3 on aggregate with a 2-0 home victory and a 3-2 away loss. A long awaited return to form took them back up to the most successful team in the championships, above Singapore on silver medals alone.

Our last shirt is, in my opinion, the best one of the lot. Disappointingly has a flag rather than the War Elephants’ FA logo (and a massive flag at that!) but everything else is brilliant. The arrow shaped gradient pattern is punctuated by a rubbery gold arrow, complete with what looks like 2 angry staring eyes. Gold accenting and different blues around the sleeve cuffs and collar help to complete the pattern. Maybe I’m overworking my imagination to make a simple shirt great but introspective psychoanalysis doesn’t sound like it’d be fun so the shirt stays great!

The 2015 SEA Games (South East Asia) saw a larger scale version of the AFF Championship at an U23 level (plus 3 overage players), with Thailand in dominant form. They swept aside Laos, Brunei and Vietnam, though only edged Malaysia and Timor-Leste 1-0 each before sweeping aside Indonesia 5-0 in the semi-final and Myanmar 3-0 in the final. 24 goals scored and 1 conceded over 7 games was a truly imperious way to claim the title, continuing their typical form at the games.

Inside the AFF Thailand do tend to be one of the strongest nations, as shown by these results. However, across Asia in general, they have their struggles. They’ve never won more than half of their qualifying games for a World Cup, making the third round for 2018 but suffering badly and gaining a mere 2 points from 10 games, and have only 2 appearances in the knockouts at the Asian Cup too. The 1972 cup did bring a 3^rd place but they’ve failed to come close to that since. 2 semi-finals for the senior squads at the Asian Games is respectable, but they’ve never won a game past that point. Inside the AFF and ASEAN though, they won the last 4 SEA Games up to 1999 that used senior squads (and were only twice outside the top 3 since the start in 1959) and have 5 AFF Championships, more than any other nation.

The Pink Elephants have met with a little more success. In the early days of women’s football they took an Asian title, 3 2^nd places and a 3^rd before falling down the pecking order with the rise of teams like China and Japan. Regulars at the Asian Cup, they managed to qualify for the most recent 2 Women’s World Cups with 5^th and 4^th place finishes. At the World Cup they’ve met with little success, only a solitary victory over the Ivory Coast and a record WWC 13-0 loss to show for their efforts. The men’s youth sides emulate the seniors, with a little previous success but little in the modern era, excepting in more localised tournaments where they are dominant. Regulars in the AFC competitions, their most recent AFC youth title is 1998 and 1969 before that! Dominant in the SEA Games, they only have 2 old U17 World Cup appearances, and no points. The women’s youth teams have one U20 World Cup appearance (and no goals or points) but have missed very few AFC championships and dominate the AFF.

Futsal has brought a little more success to the ASEAN heavyweights, with 7 top three finishes from 16 AFC Futsal Championships and 2 losses from 79 games at the AFF Futsal Championships (but they’ve won every title they’ve competed for. 5 World Cup appearances and two knockout stage appearances show that they can bring their performances to the biggest stages too. 4 SEA Games titles and 3 runners-up at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games along with a 3^rd place at U20 level add to their impressive résumé. On the women’s side they have rarely entered the World Cup, but have 2 AFC bronzes, 5/5 SEA titles and are always in the top 3 at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Doubtless, they’re able to succeed at a high level too. Beach soccer is a little more minor, with 2 silvers at an AFF level and a 4^th place at the 2002 World Cup but otherwise uninspiring finishes in Asia and only one other World Cup appearance, without success.

In a tricky second round group with a lively new Vietnam side, Malaysia, the UAE and Indonesia, Thailand are struggling to keep up with the pace. They’re likely to fall at this hurdle but certainly not expected to qualify even if they make it through. A respectable finish is everything though, so don’t expect them to give up without a fight!

Tanzania 2019 Home

Tajikistan 2018-19 Home
Tajikistan 2018-19 Away, matchprepared U21s

Li-Ning are not a name that are widely known in the shirt community. So, when they produced these rather nice shirts for Tajikistan, it was a bit of a surprise. It doesn’t appear to launched the company into any halls of fame, but still. The use of the 3 major colours from the flag is good, with the switching of the colours across the front assisted by the fade out/fade in effect by thinning the lines. The sleeves, sides and rear of the shirt are plain, but the front works well enough that it isn’t too boring. All in all, not a lot special, but fairly nice all the same.

Used across 2018 World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers, Tajikistan didn’t significantly impress. They gave Bangladesh their only point from the 2^nd round, only adding to it themselves with a home win over the same opposition and an away draw to Kyrgyzstan, failing to challenge the latter team for 3^rd place by a wide margin and losing convincingly to Jordan and Australia. This put them into the Asian Cup play-off round against Bangladesh once more who they managed to beat in both matches to reach the group stage qualifiers. Home and away wins against Nepal were positive, but a narrow home loss to the Philippines, a draw to Yemen and 2-1 losses to away to the pair left them short of the required 2^nd place for qualification.

All in all, that’s pretty common for the Tajiks. They’re a side that competes in the lower middle of the AFC, struggling to make their mark amidst the big teams, but always doing enough to stay off the bottom of groups. They’ve never particularly threatened a World Cup spot, coming closest in 2022 where they missed out on a final round qualification spot on goal difference (qualification would have been extremely unlikely) and have similarly struggled in Asian Cup qualifiers, managing their debut in the 2023 (2024) edition. They were part of all 5 AFC Challenge Cups, slowly deteriorating with a victory in the inaugural competition (before it was worth Asian Cup qualification) followed by 2^nd place, then 3^rd, then a Group Stage exit and then failing to qualify! A few good performances in recent friendly tournaments helps to add a little flair, but nothing special.

Only formed in 2017, their women’s side has had little time to make their mark. They’ve grabbed a bare handful of wins and draws and suffered in matches against much more prominent sides. In no real danger of qualifying for the Asian Cup, Olympics or World Cup they’ve mostly stayed out of last place. An entry to the 2018 Asian Games ended disastrously with 38 conceded in 3 matches, but they’ve managed a little better in Central Asia, with a 3^rd place in 2018, but last in 2022… Men’s youth football brings more success than the senior side with appearances at the Asian Games and every level of Asian Cup. The U20s reached 2 quarter-finals, but the U17s take the cake with a 3^rd and 2^nd place in Asia leading to 2 World Cup appearances! Performances inside CAFA have generally been underwhelming, but they do manage an U14 and U16 title. Women’s youth football is worse than the senior side, with even fewer positive results almost solely concentrated inside CAFA tournaments. 3^rd places in 4 team CAFA tournaments appears their current limit.

Futsal is prominent in Tajikistan, with both men’s and women’s sides with senior and youth sides. The men are regulars at the Asian Futsal Group, typically grabbing a win each tournament and having advanced on occasion toe the next round, but never threatening further. Similar has come from the men’s youth futsal to date. In CAFA they’ve struggled a little more, competing a little lower than their neighbours. Their women’s side has only taken part in CAFA competition to date, with a draw and a win against Kyrgyzstan and a draw against Afghanistan U19s their only positive results to date. Beach soccer has, however, never been part of their remit. Expected to challenge for 2^nd place and a potential 3^rd round spot for once in 2022 qualifiers, Tajikistan came as close as they ever have to a World Cup. Drawn with Japan (who stormed the group), Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and a Myanmar side devastated by their recent coup, they managed 2^nd place, but fell short on goal difference. An away draw in Kyrgyzstan/poor results against Japan proved too much, with an embarrassing loss in Myanmar not counted by virtue of their opponents finishing bottom. Regardless, they’ll happily take an Asian Cup spot as a consolation prize! Historic!

Syria 2019 Home

Switzerland 2008-10 Home

Sweden 2008 Home

Yellow and blue are the Swedish colours and both feature here, though the yellow is a bit grubby. So asymmetry with the Umbro diamonds and some slightly weird detailing on the lower back, but the camouflage pattern on the armpits make it. I’m not denying it is strange, it essentially makes you focus there, but it is quite nice looking. The most annoying thing is having the Umbro logo so high, so that numbers would be below that rather than central, but luckily this is just a replica so I don’t need to rant too much.

This design was used in 2008 for the European Championships (and the start of the following 2010 World Cup qualification) where Sweden beat Greece 2-0 but fell to a late David Villa goal to lose 2-1 to Spain and then slumped to a 2-0 defeat to the Russians to fall out at the first hurdle. 2010 World Cup qualification started with a disappointing draw to Albania but 2 draws against Portugal was more admirable. A slow start did cost them in the end though.

Regular qualifiers would be the best way to describe the men’s national side. They’ve qualified for the last 6 Euros in a row, escaping the group only once, and were at 3 of the last 5 World Cups, escaping the group every time (despite only 1 win in both 2002 and 2006!). They will also compete in the Nations League league A next season after getting promoted on goal difference over Russia (and comfortably ahead of Turkey). Their history is the truly impressive part though. 4^th place at the 1938 World Cup, 3^rd in 1950 and 1994 and 2^nd in their home World Cup in 1958, losing only to Brazil in the final. A 3^rd place in the Euros in 1992 despite having never previously qualified for the tournament is another notable success, as is their Olympic gold (1948) and two bronzes (1924 and 1952).

The women’s side is strong, as with the other Nordic nations, with three 3^rd places at World Cups and a runners-up in 2003. They also won the 1984 women’s Euros and have only not qualified for 2 of those competitions, with 3 runners-ups and 4 3^rd places. They also have 3 Algarve Cups to their name, though opposition is more variable in this scenario. The men’s youth sides have not managed to live up to the success off the senior side, with limited exposure to the World Cups or the Olympics. They aren’t regular qualifiers for their Euros, though reached 6 semi-finals and 2 finals (1 in) at the U21 Euros while also having a 3^rd place at the 2013 U17 euros and U17 world Cup. The women’s youth sides have done a little better, with 4 U19 championships, a World Cup quarter-final and the U17s were runners-up at the 2013 U17 Championship, though that was the only time they qualified.

Their futsal side has never qualified for a major tournament, though tend to be fairly competitive. They do take part in the annual Nordic Futsal Cup, winning the inaugural edition but otherwise being variable, with two 2nds, one 3^rd and a 4^th. Their women’s futsal team narrowly missed out on Euros qualification, dominating their prelim round but threw away a 2 goal lead against Croatia and drawing with Russia. They have only very rarely played beach soccer and notably have not won a game, though have only played 5.

Sweden might qualify for the 2022 World Cup, it would not be out of character and they did qualify fairly comfortably for the 2020 Euros. A slightly aging squad could be a concern though.