Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: England, Thomas Tuchel, Harry Kane, Nike, Kit
Luke Davies
Fans think they spotted a subtle error on England’s home shirt during the Three Lions’ 2-0 World Cup qualifier win against Albania at Wembley on Friday evening.
England played out a relatively routine win against Albania with debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly and captain Harry Kane both getting on the scoresheet.
The fixture also marked head coach Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of the side with fans keen to catch a glimpse of his team’s set-up and tactics.
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Among all of this, it was easy to miss a small error on the Three Lions’ home shirt – but some eagle-eyed fans still spotted the mistake.
Supporters noticed a subtle detail on the shirt, which was different to previous match day jerseys.
At last summer’s Euros, the players’ squad number was printed on the centre of their shirts with the Nike logo on the right of their chest and the England crest on the left.
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However, on Friday the players’ squad number was printed directly underneath the Nike ‘Swoosh’.
All outfield players sported the same sequence but goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had his number in the normal central position.
Fans debated whether this was down to a new UEFA regulation or just simply a mistake before England’s senior kit manager, Patrick Frost, shed light on the situation.
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“Printed the 1st shirt and put them in wrong place so then had to do them in all in same place,” Frost wrote in reply to a fan via X on Friday evening.
“Back to the usual spot on Monday….. but well done for noticing.”
A fan also asked: “Who chooses the numbers the players wear Pat? It intrigues me how in the last year we've gone from a starting XI of 1-11 every game, to now squad numbers each camp."
To which Frost replied: “Squad numbers are better for the kit department as we can print shirts in advance… it’s not our call though."
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England return to action on Monday when they face Latvia at Wembley Stadium. Tuchel will then not get to work with his players until June when the Three Lions face Andorra in a World Cup qualifier before they play Senegal in a friendly.