Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal's leaked 2022 World Cup kit features bold design choice | OneFootball

Portugal are gunning for glory at the 2022 World Cup.

Buoyed by a ‘Golden Generation’ featuring players like Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo, the Selecao are looking to conquer the world for the first time in their history.

Oh, and there just happens to be a certain five-time Ballon d’Or that we’ve neglected to mention who will almost certainly be throwing the kitchen sink at his final chance to win the World Cup.

Portugal and Ronaldo eyeing glory

We are, of course, talking about Cristiano Ronaldo, who – even by his evergreen standards – must surely be coming into the tournament in Qatar acknowledging that it’s his last chance to summit the sport.

And surrounded by even better teammates than he had at Euro 2016, you wouldn’t put it past the Manchester United star to secure an achievement that might well put the GOAT debate to bed.

However, there’s one catch, one slight fly in the ointment that might make fashionistas cringe even in a world where Ronaldo and Portugal lift football’s biggest trophy at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

Worrying Portugal kit leaks

That’s because the Selecao look set to wear a home kit that ranks amongst the worst to have been leaked for the 2022 World Cup so far with further intel having been confirmed this week.

Information from football kit experts Footy Headlines had revealed earlier this month that Portugal were set to take to the pitch in Qatar sporting “a half-and-half design in red and green”.

They touted three potential designs in what will mark Nike’s 25-year anniversary of producing Portugal’s kits and truth be told, not one of them looked befitting of Ronaldo’s final World Cup.

And that general feeling of disappointment hasn’t been assuaged by confirmation that Portugal’s upcoming 50:50 design will take cue from the diagonal split that AS Monaco have made famous.

Portugal kit leak confirmed

Footy Headlines confirmed on Sunday that Portugal’s home kit for the 2022 World Cup will feature a diagonal half-and-half design in their traditional red and green colours for the first time in the nation’s history.

The eye-catching design is mostly ‘Pepper Red’ with a smaller green section beneath the diagonal dividing line, which features on both the front and back with a splash of the alternate hue even appearing on the right sleeve.

The logos are then rounded off in a yellow-golden colour named: ‘Gold Dart,’ with the shirt’s release touted for either late August or early September.

All in all, it makes for an upcoming release that is note-worthy both for his boldness and negative reception, so be sure to check out the confirmed design as well as some of the reaction down below:

Fan reaction

The worst kit at the World Cup?

It’s not for us.

Look, football kits and how much you like them is a completely subjective matter, so if you love the appearance of Portugal’s upcoming home kit then power to you because we wish that we felt similarly.

And rest assured that we tip our hat to the boffins behind the shirt because it could well look better upon its official release or on the pitch in Qatar as has been the case with previous kit leaks.

However, as things stand, the unprecedented switch to a 50:50 diagonal design comes across as jarringly simple and uninventive despite the fact that Portugal have never had a shirt of the likes in over 100 years.

It seems as though we’re not alone either with 199 voters on Footy Headlines at the time of writing coming together to slap the Portugal leak with just two stars out of a possible five.

But who knows, if Ronaldo and Portugal can go all the way in Qatar, then don’t be surprised if all our criticism goes out the window and the sheer sight of that diagonal divide instantly becomes iconic…