While national team shirts usually receive most of the attention, the color of a team’s shorts can be just as important to its visual identity. National teams in the FIFA Women’s World Cup generally wear a similar kit to their male counterparts, but there are a few exceptions.
White
White is the most common shirt color in the Women’s World Cup, with 13 nations wearing it more than any other color throughout their history. The World Cup is played during the summer months, so teams tend to pick white to avoid getting too hot in the sun. United States, the most successful national team, tends to wear white in their matches.
The countries wearing white most often include:
- United States – 42
- Norway – 24
- England – 15
- Italy – 11
- New Zealand – 10
Blue
11 nations have most commonly worn blue shorts at the Women’s World Cup. Although Japan has won the World Cup, Sweden, who were runners-up in 2003, has actually worn blue shorts the most because sometimes Japan wears white pants.
The countries wearing blue most often include:
- Sweden – 35 matches
- Brazil – 26
- Japan – 20
- France – 17
- Italy – 13
Red
Red is often associated with passion, strength, and national identity. Interestingly enough, studies have shown that teams wearing red are sometimes perceived as more dominant or intimidating. The 1999 runners-up, China, have worn red shorts more than any other country at the Women’s World Cup.
The countries wearing red most often include:
- China – 30 matches
- Canada – 18
- North Korea – 10
Green
Only 5 countries have green as their most common shorts color at the Women’s World Cup. Green is surprisingly uncommon despite appearing prominently on many national flags. Australia has worn green the most, despite the color not appearing on their national flag.
The countries wearing green most often include:
- Australia – 20 matches
- Nigeria – 18
Black
Only two countries have worn black shorts most often. Similar to their men’s national team, Germany has worn black shorts more often than any other national team in the Women’s World Cup. The other team, Scotland only wore black shorts once, but they didn’t wear any color more than once.
The countries wearing black most often include:
- Germany – 36 matches
Orange
Just two countries have orange shorts as their primary historical Women’s World Cup color. Although the Dutch flag today is red, white, and blue, orange remains the country’s sporting color. Orange comes from the royal family that played a central role in the country’s independence.
- Netherlands – 11 matches
Yellow
Ghana is the only women’s national team to wear yellow shorts most often at the FIFA World Cup.