These days a lot of thought goes into the kits that national teams wear at the FIFA World Cup™, with careful consideration given to every detail. As *FIFA.com *recalls, however, there was a time when shirt selections were not quite so well planned, giving rise to some fascinating stories.

Breathing spaceMexico held the 1970 and 1986 world finals, and on both occasions the teams taking part were concerned at the effect the heat and humidity would have on their players. At the first of those competitions, and at the request of their team doctor Neil Phillips, reigning World Champions England placed an order for shirts made from Aertex, a lightweight fabric with minute holes for added ventilation.

The English did not stop there. Though they had won the world title in 1966 in red shirts, they opted for an all-white outfit as their first strip and an unusual sky blue uniform as their second, the idea being that the lighter colours would reflect the blazing Mexican sun and help keep the players cool. The red kits were available as a third choice.

In their final group game against Czechoslovakia, Sir Alf Ramsey’s side stepped out in their sky blue shirts. But with the Czechs in white, the England manager had trouble making out who was who in the sunlight, as he later explained:

"I think the choice, and it was my choice, of pale blue, as a second colour was a bad one. Where I sat looking from the shade into the sun, it was very difficult to distinguish the players."

Ramsey's choice also caused problems for TV viewers around the world, most of whom were watching in black and white and were barely able to distinguish the two sides. When they faced West Germany in the quarter-finals, the English reverted to their famous red top, only to wilt in the searing heat of Leon and go down 3-2 after extra time.

Argentina also turned to Aertex in 1986, but only for their iconic blue-and-white-striped first-choice jerseys. When they beat Uruguay 1-0 in the round of 16, they did so in a blue cotton top that gave coach Carlos Bilardo cause for concern: such a garment would prove anything but comfortable for their quarter-final showdown with England in Mexico City’s soaring afternoon temperatures.

Bilardo asked Argentina’s kit manufacturer to come up with lighter blue shirts, an impossible request given the short deadline. With just three days to go before the match, he sent out Ruben Moschella, a member of his coaching staff, to scour the shops of the Mexican capital for a suitable kit. He returned with two different blue shirts, which they subsequently weighed but were unable to choose between. It was then that Diego Maradona appeared. Pointing to one, El Diez said: “That’s a nice jersey. We’ll beat England in that.”

Moschella returned to the shop and bought 38 of the shirts chosen by the Albiceleste skipper. A designer fashioned some makeshift Argentinian Football Association (AFA) badges, which were then sewn on to each jersey, with silvery American Football shirt numbers hurriedly ironed on to the backs. A few hours later, Maradona scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal followed by one of the finest solo efforts ever seen in a world finals, all in a shirt hastily sourced from a backstreet shop in Mexico City.

Les Bleus *go green and white

On the afternoon of 10 June 1978, France and Hungary prepared to face each other in Mar del Plata in their final Group 1 game at the world finals in Argentina, with both sides having already been eliminated from the competition. There was half an hour to go before kick-off when *Bleus midfielder Henri Michel’s attention was drawn to what the Hungarians were wearing beneath their tracksuit tops.

The Nantes captain promptly approached opposing striker Andras Torocsik and asked him: “White shirt?”. “White shirt,” came the reply. “But France are playing in white,” retorted Michel. Torocsik was having none of it, however, and was adamant that it was the Magyars who were supposed to wear white.

Realising there was a problem, Michel raised the issue with the members of the French delegation, who agreed with him, saying they had each received a FIFA memorandum stating that France was indeed to wear white.