Ask any collector what makes a shirt feel special and sooner or later the conversation turns to the neckline. This guide to football shirt collars explains the crew neck, the V-neck, the polo collar and the rest, why they’ve come and gone over the decades, and which one you should pick when you’re buying your next kit.
Why football shirt collars matter more than you think
The collar is the first thing you notice when a shirt is on a hanger and the last thing you forget when it’s on a player lifting a trophy. It sets the whole tone: a polo collar says heritage and terraces, a clean crew neck says modern athlete, a V-neck sits somewhere in between. Manufacturers know this, which is why the neckline is often the single most debated detail when a new national team jersey is unveiled.
It also affects how the shirt wears. Collars change how a jersey sits on your shoulders, how warm it feels, and how it looks with a jacket over the top in a British November. So it’s worth understanding the main types before you spend your money.
The crew neck: the modern default
Walk through any current club jersey range and most of what you’ll see is a crew neck: a round, ribbed neckline with no opening. It’s light, it doesn’t flap about in the wind, and it’s the cheapest to produce, which is why Nike and adidas lean on it for the majority of their performance kits.
The crew neck isn’t new, mind. England’s red 1966 World Cup final shirt was a simple round neck, and Brazil’s 1970 yellow was barely more elaborate. What changed is the fabric. Modern crew necks are built with stretch knit and flat seams so the neckline stays flat after a hundred washes. If you want a shirt to actually play in, this is usually the one.
Best for
Five-a-side, gym wear, warm-weather tournaments and anyone who finds collars fussy. It’s also the safest choice if you’re buying a World Cup 2026 jersey for a kid, because there are no buttons to lose or laces to chew.
The V-neck: sharp lines and 2000s nostalgia
The V-neck had its golden age in the mid-2000s. Think of the adidas kits from the 2006 World Cup, with the deep V and the contrasting trim, worn by an Argentina jersey generation of Riquelme and a young Messi. The shape elongates the torso and gives designers a natural place to add a colour accent, which is why so many 2000s shirts had a stripe running down from the V.
V-necks never fully went away. Plenty of recent La Liga jerseys and international kits still use a shallow V, often with a small insert at the base to stop it gaping. It’s a good middle ground if you like a bit of shape but don’t want a full collar.
Best for
Casual wear, taller fans who want to break up a long torso, and anyone building a collection of South American jerseys, where the V has always been more popular than in Europe.
The polo collar: the classic look
If you grew up watching football in the 1990s, this is the collar in your head. Umbro’s England shirts of the early ’90s, the Manchester United kits of the Cantona era with the collar famously turned up, Italy’s Diadora shirts at USA ’94: all built around a proper fold-down polo collar, sometimes with buttons, sometimes without.
Polo collars fell out of favour in the 2000s because they add weight and can chafe at full sprint, but they’ve made a strong comeback in the last five years. Manufacturers have realised that most people buying a shirt aren’t playing 90 minutes in it, and the collar is a big reason why classic football jerseys sell so well. It looks smart with jeans, works under a coat, and photographs beautifully.
Best for
Match day in the stands, the pub, and anyone who wants their England jersey to feel like a piece of history rather than a training top.
Grandad and button-up collars
The grandad collar is a stand-up band with a short button placket, no fold-down. It’s an old-school shape borrowed from early twentieth-century workwear, and it has become one of the most fashionable collars in football. Newcastle’s mid-’90s adidas shirts used a version of it, and modern heritage kits from clubs across the Premier League have brought it back.
Button-up collars in general are a signal that a kit is leaning into tradition. When you see one on a new Italy jersey or a Germany jersey, the designers are usually referencing a specific era, and it’s worth reading the launch notes to see which.
Lace-up collars: the ’90s throwback
Lace-up collars are the marmite of football shirt collars. Manchester United’s 1992-94 Umbro home shirt is the most famous example: a wide collar with a drawstring tie at the throat, which most players left loose and most fans have fiddled with ever since. The look was everywhere in the early ’90s and then vanished almost overnight.
It has crept back on retro reissues and a handful of modern kits. If you’re a collector, a lace-up is a lovely piece to own. If you’re going to wear it every week, be aware the laces fray and can be a pain to keep tidy.
Mandarin, wrap and other modern experiments
Every few years a manufacturer tries something new. Nike’s 2018 World Cup shirts had a low crew with a small V notch, sometimes called a wing collar. Puma has used ribbed, slightly raised necklines on European national team jerseys. adidas has experimented with wrap collars where one side of the neckline overlaps the other, and several of the Mexico jersey designs of recent tournaments have used a mandarin-style stand collar that nods to traditional dress.
These are the collars that divide opinion at launch and then become collectors’ favourites a decade later. Nobody loved every 2010s neckline at the time, but plenty of those shirts are now hard to find.
How the collar changes fit and comfort
A few practical points from behind the counter. A polo collar adds a bit of structure across the shoulders, so if you’re between sizes it can make a shirt feel slightly larger. A crew neck sits closer to the body and is the most forgiving if you’re layering. V-necks show more of whatever you wear underneath, so pick a plain base layer if you’re heading out in cold weather.
Fabric matters too. Player-issue authentic shirts tend to have lighter, thinner collars than the replica versions, because they’re built for the pitch. If you want a substantial collar that holds its shape, the replica is often the better buy, which surprises people. Our FAQ page covers the authentic-versus-replica differences in more detail, and our size guide is worth a look before you commit.
Which collar should you buy for World Cup 2026?
It depends what the shirt is for. If you’re watching in the stands or the pub, a polo or grandad collar gives you the classic look and works with a jacket over the top. If you’re playing in it or wearing it in the heat, go crew. If you want a shirt that sits between the two, a shallow V-neck is a good bet.
A lot of the 2026 kits from the big manufacturers mix heritage collars with modern fabrics, so you can have the retro shape without the retro weight. You can compare them across our World Cup 2026 jersey collection and see which style each nation has gone with. For context on the tournament itself, the official FIFA World Cup 2026 hub has the full schedule and squads.
Find your favourite collar at SideJersey
Whether you’re after a crisp crew-neck Brazil jersey, a polo-collar throwback, or a button-up heritage kit, we stock the lot across our national team and club jersey ranges. Every shirt ships from the UK, and if you’re not sure which collar suits you, drop us a line through our about us page and we’ll give you an honest answer. Now you know your football shirt collars, go and pick the one that feels right.
