Fashion experts weigh in on World Cup jersey style

Backdropped by the Itaquerao stadium, a Mexico soccer fan poses for a photo wearing a wrestling mask and a representation of his country's national flag as a cape, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Tuesday, June 10, 2014. The high-profile inaugural match will be played at the troubled Itaquerao, which was one of the most delayed venues for the World Cup. It's already known that the stadium's roof won't be fully finished until after the tournament. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Fashion experts weigh in on World Cup jersey style — The World Cup uniforms will provide a carnival of color and fashion, from Brazil's bright yellow jerseys to the Netherlands' classic orange to Croatia's red checkered home kit and the superhero-inspired looks of Mexico.

The 2014 tournament, which opens Thursday when Brazil hosts Croatia, features the classics, the creative and the downright outlandish.

The Americans' new red, white and blue color-block road jerseys — critics say they resemble Domino's Pizza delivery uniforms — can't be as bad as the memorable faux denim outfits from 1994. But the vote is still out on how the newest outfit for the Stars and Stripes will go over.

"The USA jersey feels very patriotic," said Los Angeles designer and stylist Estée Stanley of Estée Stanley Design. "It's easy to identify the country as the U.S."

The U.S. isn't the only nation trying the block style.

"Another stylish direction is the color-blocking or piecing — USA away or Ecuador away or Colombia," said Tom Julian, men's fashion director at The Doneger Group, a retail merchandising and consulting firm based in New York.

Then there are the classics.

Brazil will be in the traditional yellow with five stars representing its record five titles.

Several teams are all about understated looks: There are England's white home jersey and red road kit — like the one players wore in the victorious 1966 final against West Germany — and the traditional blue of Italy with the a crest over the heart in the nation's tricolor.

They contrast sharply with Croatia, which sports a bombastic home shirt with large red-and-white checks.

Four years ago, Slovenia sported green road jerseys with large yellow zigzags for road games in a look reminiscent of Charlie Brown.

Some teams have gone for subtle patterns that still stand out. El Tri's lightning bolts on both jerseys will make Mexico fashionable as the team travels around Brazil.

"I am definitely partial to those shirts with daring superhero graphics or shirts that focus on the torso in a dynamic way," Julian said. "Mexico, very 'Shazam!' with the lightning-rod effect — probably my favorite out of all."

Plenty of supporters are flocking into Brazil wearing the new outfit.

"The jersey's like a Power Ranger, I like it," said 28-year-old architect Alan Gonzalez, of Durango, Mexico. He sported the jersey and a sombrero traveling to Sao Paulo via Atlanta with four buddies Tuesday.

Cameroon's forest-green, art-inspired jersey with the look of etchings makes a bold statement for the small African nation.

In the 2004 African Cup of Nations, Cameroon briefly used a track-style unitard. The one-piece outfit with green shirt and red shorts was quickly banned by FIFA before the 2006 World Cup.

The current kit is generating some positive attention.

"The Cameroon jersey is the cutest and most fashionable with an Ikat print," Stanley said.

And, of course, there's the attention to figure-flattering cuts and prints for some of the world's fittest athletes — who are known to celebrate a goal by flashing their rock-hard abdominals.

"The modified Henley — Brazil — is the most body conscious right now and represents the influence of the rock 'n' roll dresser. ... Netherlands away is very torso-enhancing," Julian said. "In activewear, color is an important part of the story, and it's great to see the brights well represented — from yellow and orange to green and red."

Some countries have nicknames based off their kits: France is known as Les Bleus after its classic navy home top. The Netherlands wears orange because it's the royal color — and are nicknamed "Oranje" because of it.

Chile's red home jersey with a blue collar and narrow white stripes down both sides of the neck should bode well for those looking to show off some flair in Brazil and beyond.

Julian calls Costa Rica's look, featuring almost a backward checkmark across the chest, "very space-age superhero" and Nigeria's two-toned green tops with subtle vertical stripes "very green villain."

"Soccer jersey styles are typical and expected with crewneck and polo shirt silhouettes," Julian said. "But the "Johnny collar" style — Chile home — is definitely on trend and a modern silhouette for today's active guy." ( Associated Press )

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Australian bookmaker floats 151-foot Christ the Redeemer hot air balloon wearing World Cup shirt over Melbourne

(AP Photo/sportsbet.com.au, Dave Callow)

Australian bookmaker floats 151-foot Christ the Redeemer hot air balloon wearing World Cup shirt over Melbourne - Australia will face a difficult World Cup group stage with matches against three very talented sides in Spain, the Netherlands and Chile. So in an attempt to boost the nation's spirits (and get some valuable World Cup publicity), an Australian sportsbook sent a hot-air balloon that looks like Brazil's Christ the Redeemer statue into the skies above Melbourne.

. The 151-foot Jesus balloon wore an Australia shirt with the words "#KeepTheFaith" on the back. And according to ABC News, it has "outraged some politicians and business executives." Of course.

Rev Costello, the chair of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce, told Yahoo! Australia that the stunt was an overreach and against the principles Jesus stood.

"One of the great statues in Rio is Jesus, and Brazil is a Catholic nation that takes its faith seriously and its football fanatically," Costello said.

"You don't exploit those things that are sacred to people simply for your own advertising reach and I think that soccer as a world game should be sensitive to that and certainly express their disdain for these types of advertisements."

The bookies in Australia aren't the only ones getting attention for their World Cup advertising methods, though. When Paddy Power shared an aerial image of the letters "C'mon England PP" cut into a large section of the Amazon rainforest, the backlash was understandably quick and fierce. But before things went too far, the company revealed that the picture was only the result of "computer wizardry." ( sports.yahoo.com )

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Against Dutch, Spain is wary of Robben redemption

Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas attends a training session at the Atletico Paranaense training center in Curitiba, Brazil, Tuesday, June 10, 2014. Spain will play in group B of the Brazil 2014 World Cup. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Against Dutch, Spain is wary of Robben redemption — If there is one player Spain is wary of before its World Cup opener, it is Netherlands forward Arjen Robben.

Friday's Group B game not only offers a rematch of the 2010 final won by Spain, but a chance of redemption for the Dutch winger.

Robben was put clean through to face Iker Casillas at Soccer City but saw his effort deflected wide by the Spain goalkeeper in the final's best scoring opportunity until Andres Iniesta netted the extra-time winner.

Spain defender Javi Martinez said that moment has stayed with his Bayern Munich teammate, so the defending champions will be keeping a close eye on Robben in Salvador.

"Robben shakes his defender so well to find space, so we're going to have keep tabs on him," Martinez said on Wednesday.

While Martinez also pointed to Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder's ability to decide games, Spain knows that it's Robben who is the most eager to make up for his famous miss.

Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, saves a ball during a training session of the Spanish national team at the Atletico Paranaense training center in Curitiba, Brazil, Monday, June 9, 2014. Spain will play in group B of the Brazil 2014 World Cup. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

"(Robben and I) have talked about that moment," Martinez said. "It was a very tough moment for the Netherlands and especially to him, with that chance against Iker."

With Chile and Australia also in Group B, both Spain and the Netherlands know that a loss in the group opener would leave either team in a bind. Spain, though, lost its opening match against Switzerland in South Africa four years ago but rallied to win its first World Cup.

"If you lose the first game you cannot afford another slip-up," Martinez said. "We want to start on the right foot, especially since it gives you even more confidence starting with a victory from your first game."

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has reiterated that his team needs to be more aggressive inside the area. That message has certainly gotten through to his players, which will go up against a Dutch team that plans to use five defenders to combat its possession game.

Spain attributes its 3-0 Confederations Cup final loss to Brazil last summer to lacking that particular quality.

"Brazil was more aggressive than us," Martinez said. "Every team is very motivated to beat us so if we don't go out 100 percent focused than whichever team it may be can cause us problems." ( Associated Press )

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