After
two seasons of England wearing Admiral
white shirts, with
red and blue piping, a
'flamboyance' that was not popular with the traditionalists, it was not
until May 1976 that there was any cause to wear a change kit.
England headed for Los Angeles, New York and
Philadelphia to take part in the American Bicentennial Tournament, alongside
Brazil, Italy and the United States. A
red change kit
would eventually emerge in the following month, but when England faced the
hosts, they switched to this lightweight, all-yellow kit that was strangely
devoid of any of the trademark Admiral design features.
As the United States national team was not
considered strong enough to compete against three former World
Cup winners, their side, branded as 'Team
America', was selected from the best players in the North American Soccer
League which
happened
to include Pelé and was captained by Bobby Moore. Consequently, the game was
not recognised as a full international. For the record, England won 3-1,
with Kevin Keegan scoring twice.
The shirt pictured above was issued to Ray
Kennedy, who was an unused substitute. It is displayed with permission from Simon Shakeshaft, curator of
the
National Football Shirt Collection at England Match Shirts, which is part of
the Neville Evans Collection.
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