With the world’s eyes focused on Qatar 2022, we are taking a look at how each team has decided to reveal their match-day squads on social media.
It’s no mean feat to fit the relevant details into a graphic, balancing the importance of conveying information vs not over-complicating things and making it a visually appealing piece of content for fans.
We also appreciate that there are talented, hard-working people behind this output and that opinions are 100% subjective – what one fan likes, may not be another’s cup of tea.
So without further ado, let’s take a look!
WORLDIES – PICK THAT OUT! ๐
AUSTRALIA ๐ฆ๐บ
Australia has done a fantastic job bringing their primary color scheme out in a way that’s gritty, aggressive and eye-catching. The uneven split, the ‘tear’ and the paint splatters are lovely touches and it’s refreshing to see a large player cutout that’s not a broadcast headshot. The opposition crest, date, venue and time is the icing on the cake of a job well done.
Interestingly, the Socceroos first revealed their team in the form of a video, but then dropped this image as a reply “for those who would just like a graphic” showing their personality and awareness of audience preference.
BRAZIL ๐ง๐ท
Like the five-time world champs, there’s something eye-catching to their graphic!
Not just the way it depicts all of the key information, but the green accents on the edge of the squad box, which is also an opaque gold that makes the names stand out so much more against the background.
ENGLAND ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ
Crisp, clean, bold and eye-catching – just like England’s first-up clash against Iran!
Would prefer to see players listed in position, but like most teams, they have opted for numerical and are one of just seven nations to have a brand/sponsor for their team graphic which is on the large side, but not too overbearing.
FRANCE ๐ซ๐ท
C’est manifique!
One of few teams to depict their squad in positional format with player photos. While formations can be fluid and subject to change, this provides familiarity for the fan to at least have a visual concept of how the team will line up.
If we’re being slightly picky, there’s no mention of the substitutes or details of the clash against Australia, but that doesn’t remove Les Bleus from our top tier.
MEXICO ๐ฒ๐ฝ
Undoubtedly the most eye-catching XI in this World Cup!
Not just the usage of full-body player cutouts, but the diversity of their poses and expressions add a tremendous amount of personality. Subs are listed, as is the opponent’s crest and while the formation is imprecise, the players are arranged in defenders/goalkeeper and midfielders/attackers which is a lovely touch. Goooooooooooolllllllllll ggggooooollllll gol gol gol gollllllll!!!!
POLAND ๐ต๐ฑ
Well, today we learned that “Sklad” means “composition” in Polish!
Really nice work by the federation here. The key information is presented cleanly and the player cut-out is bold and confident. The branded strip down the left edge adds so much for such a minor detail and overall it does a tremendous job of presenting so much without overcrowding the space.
SAUDI ARABIA ๐ธ๐ฆ
One of the most ‘premium’ looking templates of this World Cup with the designers doing a lovely job with the green, gold and white scheme. Not only do we have player photos, but we also have them in formation (which for a team like Saudi whom many football fans would be unfamiliar, is helpful!)
Also perhaps some of the best integration of their commercial partners who are present, but not too dominant.
MAKES THE KEEPER WORK ๐
ARGENTINA ๐ฆ๐ท
A nation that is the envy of all others when it comes to the iconic colour palette with which they have to work!
Simple but effective with the starting XI listed by position. The motifs in the top right look sharp, but the federation’s presenting partners running along the bottom are somewhat cramped and forced. If the AFA were required to include all, perhaps a 4:5 ratio might have created more space.
CANADA ๐จ๐ฆ
A really nice way to do a minimalistic XI. We only get the key info (nothing about the game) but it works in this case, as the brand, colors and design are absolutely on point.
Players are organized by position, however Canada are the only nation to pull the captain out of the line-up so he can top the list, such is the influence and respect of Atiba Hutchinson!
GHANA ๐ฌ๐ญ
While the Black Stars’ graphic ticks all the right boxes, what stands out most is the image. It’s a different pose to most, is cropped a little tighter than others and is constrained to a box, rather than being the dominant layer which creates a sense of order and neatness. This looks very fresh indeed.
JAPAN ๐ฏ๐ต
No nonsense here from Samurai Blue!
The squad is arranged by position in a simple, easy-to-read view with subs and game details clearly listed. While perhaps not as ‘pretty’ as others (font selection could be improved), it gets the job done for the country’s English-speaking fans.
MOROCCO ๐ฒ๐ฆย
The Atlas Lions have some of the most eye-catching graphics at Qatar 2022. Their team announcement may not be among the best of them, but it conveys the key information. Unsure why they opted to include social logos (with no @ handle) however and surely picking a player rather than a bored looking manager is the way to go for the first game?
Special mention to Morroco’s team for their outstanding work across the board. These “next match” and “schedule” graphics are so beautifully executed! ๐
NETHERLANDS ๐ณ๐ฑ
Similar to Ecuador, we love the Oranje’s positional approach here however it’s also on the small side.
A way to possibly alleviate this is to convert the pitch to a half-field, so there’s not a chasm between the center midfielder and strikers. As an example, see Spain, who have condensed the pitch to a square. Not close to being geometrically accurate in real life, but it looks far neater on a graphic.
Besides this, the colors are sensational and the team slogan in the margin is a nice way to connect fans to the underlying campaign theme.
PORTUGAL ๐ต๐น
Who else but CR7?
Some will say this is plain. Others will say this is clean. We’re firmly with the latter, especially considering the background clearly matches the team’s kit. Some match detail or subs list would have been nice, but this is a ‘SIU-table’ design for A Seleรงรฃo!
SERBIA ๐ท๐ธ
Serbia’s design is trying incredibly hard to break through into the next tier.
The info is there. The composition is nice. The flags add an element of context and color. But where this ultimately falls down is the heroes (the players!) There’s no personality or character and the white backgrounds are somewhat jarring (compare this to some of the transparent player photos for example).
SOUTH KOREA ๐ฐ๐ท
Beautiful use of the team’s primary colours and is the only graphic to use a combination including non-English alphabet, which adds a large degree of authenticity. Son Heung-min is full of attitude and the filter applied over his hero shot only serves to enhance the image.
The drawback is that only Korean speakers will know the subs, unless you cross-reference the shirt numbers with the match center!
SPAIN ๐ช๐ธ
It’s no surprise to see La Roja churning out high-quality creative.
Interestingly they have condensed the pitch to a literal square which may not be true to real life, but it works a charm in this context.
Spain have also gone for player ‘heads’ (rather than torso, or head & shoulders) which works well and if they’d managed to somehow incorporate the replacements, this could well be in the top tier.
URUGUAY ๐บ๐พ
We love an XI that depicts the players in formation (see France, Saudi Arabia!) and Uruguay have done a reasonable job here. We immediately see who is playing and how they will likely line up, in addition to the opponent, date, match time and substitutes.
Perhaps it may have been an idea to crop the players a little tighter, rather than fading them out at the knees, which would allow a more prominent look at their face as the lower half of the body is not all that relevant in this context.
USA ๐บ๐ธ
We didn’t expect anything other than crisp, clean and efficient from the United States.
Their colors are bang on brand and the player cutout is front and center. No substitutes however, with the US being one of just six nations opting not to include this detail. It really helps the visual simplicity, but you’d think this info would be handy for a market where the sport is still on the rise (and hosting the next World Cup!)
WALES ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ
Very text heavy, with Wales opting to give their subs a far more prominent position than most others. While it’s nice to have, it almost takes away from the starting XI.
We do however love the rolling countryside as Wales is the only team to include local geography in their designs, which is a nod to the homeland and a very nice touch.
CHECKING VAR FOR OFFSIDE ๐ฌ
BELGIUM ๐ง๐ช
Sort of like Belgium IRL, it’s kind of getting the job done, but not in a clear or inspiring fashion.
The background gradient is almost ‘too clean’ (plain?) and there’s a lot of dead space between the starting XI and Jan Vertonghen.
COSTA RICA ๐จ๐ท
Interesting ‘angle’ to take with their squad following the lines of the background, rather than being vertical like most other sides.
Red font on red background isn’t the easiest to read, subs are extremely small and while commercial branding is a reality for many, overlaying it on the feature player when there is so much space elsewhere is not ideal.
CROATIA ๐ญ๐ท
The 2018 finalist delivers a no-nonsense squad graphic here where the iconic Croatian checkerboard comes through loud and clear (a little too much perhaps?)
It does the job, but SIX emblems/slogans at the bottom seem like overkill and ultimately detract from the players, especially with so much vacant space.
ECUADOR ๐ช๐จ
Ok… we know we said that we love visual XIs but Ecuador haven’t quite delivered the format in the way others have. The players are very small, broadcast-style photos do little to add personality and there’s a lot of dead space.
It’s fine, but some little details could put this over the top.
GERMANY ๐ฉ๐ช
Efficient and to the point. Did we expect anything else from Germany?
There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with it, but you are just left wanting a bit more.
Where are the subs? Who are they playing? When is the game? What is the event? Other than the hashtag at the top, this XI could be for any game or competition.
QATAR ๐ถ๐ฆ
The World Cup host was one of just three nations to include a photo of their head coach among the XI (and fancy making it two or three times as big as any player!) Interesting move, as it’s the first thing the eye is immediately drawn to.
The player photos are nicely executed sitting on top of the ‘diamond’ to create a nice 3D effect.
For the life of us though, we cannot figure out the order of this squad. It’s not alphabetical. It’s not numerical. It’s not positional. The only explanation is perhaps it’s alphabetical by their Arabic names? (if you’re fluent, please DM and let us know, inshallah!) ๐
SENEGAL ๐ธ๐ณ
Another example of where a passionate and inspiring hero photo would go such a long way to raising the overall impact of a graphic.
When getting headshots done for broadcast, ensure you take a range of poses, emotions and angles to provide a bit of diversity and flexibility when it comes to visual creative.
This is not a ‘bad’ graphic, but it simply does not stand out from the crowd.
HIT INTO ROW Z ๐คฆโโ๏ธ
CAMEROON ๐จ๐ฒ
Too much text. Too many logos. The eye simply doesn’t know where to look first.
Imagery is also not as hi-def as others, which also takes away from the overall impact. Points for including the flags and game date/time though!
DENMARK ๐ฉ๐ฐ
It’s undeniably ‘red’ but it’s not really doing much to inspire.
Feel like more could have been done with the spacing (loads of vacant area at the top whileย the Danish flag nearly touches Rasmus Kristensen’s head and the divider cuts off his elbow).
While a graphic will never be a deciding factor about whether a fan emotionally invests in a World Cup game, it’s hard to think this adds much excitement for Danish fans on the timeline.
SWITZERLAND ๐จ๐ญ
Simplicity in design is great, but this is perhaps taking it a little too far.
While it’s a minimalistic approach, it’s not providing fans with anything other than the XI. No game details, no positions, no formation, no subs. There’s an abundance of dead space in the lower third and the kit silhouettes bearing player numbers are repetitive and probably take away more than they add.
It wouldn’t take a huge amount of effort to elevate this into something premium.
UNUSED SUBS ๐คทโโ๏ธ
The following teams do post a starting XI to social media.
IRAN
TUNISIA
We hope you enjoyed this overview. As mentioned at the outset, we appreciate the different approaches taken by each team. This is all subjective opinion; there is no right or wrong answer – that is the beauty of design!
If you feel your brand could use a visual refresh, please reach out and we’d be happy to have a chat!