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No red and white checks for Croatia against England in World Cup opener

Croatia’s home kit

ZAGREB, 4 June 2026 – FIFA has this week confirmed the designated match colours for all 72 group-stage fixtures at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, providing the first detailed look at what teams will wear across the tournament in the group stages.

Among the notable details is the confirmation that Croatia will not wear their famous red-and-white chequered home shirt in their opening Group L fixture against England on 17 June.

Instead, Zlatko Dalić’s side will wear their alternate blue strip, with England wearing their traditional white shirts, white shorts and white socks for the match.

Why have England been designated their home kit for the match?

All previous winners of the FIFA World Cup participating in the 2026 final tournament are allowed to play their opening match in their traditional colours.

As a result, England, who won the World Cup in 1966, will wear their classic white kit, while Croatia switch to their blue change strip to avoid a colour clash.

Return of the Famous Chequers Against Panama

Croatia will return to their iconic home colours for their second Group L match against Panama on 23 June.

FIFA says that its preference is for each team to wear its first-choice colours during matches.

“However if there is or may be a clash, a sequence of principles is followed to ensure an acceptable colour contrast is found. Whenever possible, FIFA seeks to ensure a dark-kit and light-kit colour contrast for its matches, in the interests of including those with a colour deficiency.”

FIFA’s published group-stage kit allocations also indicate that Croatia will again wear their home red-and-white chequered strip in their final Group L fixture on 27 June against Ghana.

You can see the full kit designation for the 72 group-stage matches here

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