The 2026 Hockey World Cup is over, with Germany crowned men’s champions and Argentina lifting the women’s title. The tournament gave us plenty of great hockey, some brilliant goals and a few controversial moments that will continue to be talked about after the final whistle.
For now, Give Me Hockey is taking a lighter look back at some of the jerseys that stood out during the World Cup. While many teams stayed close to their traditional colours and identity, others made some bold choices with colour, patterns and the way they represented their country. Here are Give Me Hockey’s picks for the six best jerseys of the 2026 Hockey World Cup.
1. Australia Women Away
Australia’s away jersey was the standout of the World Cup. The Indigenous-inspired artwork gives the kit an unmistakably Australian identity, while the darker teal colour makes the whole design look remarkably classy.
The home kit already carried the familiar green and gold, so the away jersey had more freedom. Australia used that well, with the deep teal base giving the shirt an almost royal appearance and the intricate linework adding detail across the body.
The uniform was created by Indigenous artist Mya Damon, with contribution from Olympic gold medallist Nova Peris. FIH described the artwork as representing connections to community and Country, while also acknowledging First Nations athletes and their stories.
There is plenty happening across the shirt. The overall design still feels balanced, with the colour giving the artwork room to stand out and helping make this the strongest jersey of the tournament.
2. Netherlands Away
The Netherlands have experimented with plenty of away colours over the years, including some excellent black jerseys with orange detailing. The 2026 version stood out for how subtle it looked despite the amount of work included in the shirt.
The very light blue base gives the jersey a clean, almost ice-blue appearance. Orange remains around the collar, sleeves and side panels, keeping the familiar Dutch identity within a design that otherwise feels very different.
The lion pattern is the detail that really lifts the jersey. From a distance, the shirt looks simple and understated, while a closer look reveals the repeated lion graphics running through the fabric.
That subtlety is what makes it work. There is a lot of detail in the jersey, and most of it only becomes obvious when viewed closely.
3. Japan Women Home
Japan have been using floral elements in their women’s jerseys for a while, and the cherry blossom theme continues to be a hit. The 2026 World Cup version uses a soft pink base with cherry blossom detailing across the shoulders and upper parts of the jersey.
The design feels feminine and elegant, while the cherry blossoms give it an unmistakably Japanese identity. The flowers are concentrated around the shoulders and sides, leaving plenty of clean space through the centre of the shirt.
That placement makes a significant difference. The floral design remains the main feature, while the pink base still has enough room to breathe and gives the full kit a clean appearance on the pitch.
Japan have found a visual identity that suits their women’s team. The cherry blossom theme has been around for a while, and this World Cup version shows why it continues to work.
4. Germany Away
Germany produced the boldest jersey of the World Cup. Going with a vibrant pink for an international hockey kit is already a major design choice, and committing to it across almost the entire away uniform made the German players impossible to miss.
There is also more going on in the shirt than the colour first suggests. A darker geometric pattern runs through the pink base, giving the jersey more depth and keeping the colour as the dominant feature.
The kit looked even better on the blue hockey turf. Pink against blue created one of the strongest visual contrasts at the tournament and gave Germany a completely different look from everyone around them.
Australia went classy, Japan elegant and the Netherlands subtle. Germany simply went bold, and there is something brilliant about rocking pink at a World Cup and making it look this good.
5. Argentina Away
Argentina’s home jersey already has one of the most recognisable identities in international hockey. The blue and white stripes are such a big part of the Argentine look that the away design still needed some connection to those traditional colours.
The black base gives the shirt a sharp appearance. The placement of the light blue makes the jersey more interesting, with thin vertical blue sections through the front bringing some of the familiar striped identity into a completely different colour scheme.
The amount of blue is well judged. It remains visible enough to make the shirt feel Argentine while allowing black to dominate the overall design.
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Black jerseys usually look good anyway, so Argentina could easily have stopped there. Bringing the blue into the shirt gave the away kit something more and kept it loyal to the visual identity that has defined Argentina for years.
6. USA Home
The USA home jersey takes the most direct route to national identity on this list. Red dominates the shirt, while stars and striped detailing make the American influence obvious immediately.
The upper section carries most of the visual detail. Stars run through the darker shoulder area, while white vertical elements break up the red base and strengthen the stars-and-stripes theme.
There is more happening here than on the Netherlands or Argentina jerseys, and that suits the USA design. The shirt leans heavily into familiar American imagery and never tries to hide where the inspiration comes from.
The stars are what make it memorable. They give the jersey far more personality than a standard red, white and blue kit and keep the American identity at the centre of the design.
What Made These Jerseys Stand Out
There was no single reason these six worked. Australia looked classy, Japan elegant and Germany fearless, while the Netherlands and Argentina showed how much difference smaller details can make.
The USA took the most direct route, using stars and stripes to make its identity obvious. Across six very different designs, these were the jerseys that stood out most during the 2026 Hockey World Cup.
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