Football Team Kits from EURO 2024 as CS2 Skins: Part 3
EURO 2024 is still ongoing, but our experiment comparing national team kits and Counter-Strike skins is nearing its end. In this final part, we have many teams with almost identical kits, which made it a bit challenging to find matching CS items. Nonetheless, we managed to complete the task and are eager to share the final results.
Hungary
- CZ75-Auto | Red Astor — $0.28 – $1.46
- CZ75-Auto | Pole Position — $0.34 – $2.20
Hungary is not a frequent participant in major football tournaments, so it was important for them to arrive at the European Championship in good form, in every sense of the word. We won’t assess the sporting aspect of the team, but we’ll say that in competitive CS, there are many questions within the community about players from the banks of the Danube. Moving on to the skins, we decided to take two variants of the CZ75-Auto with very similar designs and concepts but different colors. The Hungarian kits are executed in a similar style, with a sufficient number of small details but differing colors.
Switzerland
- P2000 | Obsidian — $1.35 – $7.16
- XM1014 | Black Tie — $0.27 – $2.27
Like most football team kits, the Swiss home and away kits are designed with a reference to the national flag. We see nothing wrong with this, but the concept and approach seem too primitive, which is a bit disappointing. The Swiss team shouldn’t be criticized too harshly, as there are at least a few interesting elements here. In the first kit, there is a slight gradient from the shorts to the jersey, which we were able to show on a CS2 skin. If the transition were smoother and not limited to the color of the shorts and jersey, it would be much more interesting. The second kit turned out a bit more interesting: the combination of black and white is a timeless classic that always looks good. The XM1014 | Black Tie also elegantly demonstrates this and fits perfectly as the Swiss away kit.
Denmark
- AUG | Hot Rod — $481.31 – $550.76
- Galil AR | Connexion — $0.29 – $1.38
The Danish team kit doesn’t particularly stand out compared to others, but we’ll note the rich, bright color of the red jersey in the home kit. This reminded us of the famous and very expensive Hot Rod collection, which is highly valued not only among players but also skin collectors. Moving on to the second kit, finding a very similar item in the game by appearance was difficult, so we found a weapon with similar shades and matched a couple of references. The Galil AR | Connexion features a cross, which is present on the team’s flag, as well as an image of a phoenix. This reminded us of the story from EURO 2020 when the team’s captain, Christian Eriksen, suffered a cardiac arrest, and the doctors miraculously saved his life. Four years later, he is back at EURO, having undergone a kind of reincarnation on the football field.
Slovakia
- MP9 | Stained Glass — $106.18 – $150.90
- USP-S | Printstream — $24.61 – $122.74
The Slovakian team’s kit stands out, especially because of the away jersey. Under dim light, the white turns into a purple with a pleasant pearlescent effect. We don’t know how this was technically achieved on fabric, but the same effect exists in CS2. The Printstream collection features three types of weapons with similar iridescence and is highly sought after. This match is one of the most accurate, but to be sure, you need to enter the game and see how this effect works on the dark areas of the map. Regarding the home kit, we also hit the mark and found a simple blue skin with red accents.
Poland
- USP-S | Check Engine — $3.11 – $16.62
- FAMAS | Mecha Industries — $2.66 – $7.67
In several unofficial rankings, Poland’s team kit ranked last and was heavily criticized. Looking at the design of both kits, it’s clear why the team leader, Robert Lewandowski, played only one match for the national team, where he sustained a minor injury and will no longer appear on the EURO 2024 fields. In our case, this only complicated the situation, as Counter-Strike developers don’t add such poor-quality items to the game. Therefore, we didn’t focus on the details (since there are simply none on the Polish kits) and found color references and matches.
Romania
- SG 553 | Hazard Pay — $81.99 – $222
- AK-47 | Bloodsport — $109.79 – $156.64
Once again, we have two absolutely identical kits but in contrasting colors. Maybe we’re missing something, but we’ll continue to stick to our guns and show “how it should be done.” For the yellow home kit, we chose the SG 553 | Hazard Pay with a cool implementation in a yellow-black geometric pattern. Various parts of the body feature accents in the form of caution tape and several pictograms. For the away kit, we picked the AK-47 | Bloodsport with numerous inscriptions of different sizes, done in a variety of fonts. The small details on the body are painted in yellow, just like the jerseys of the Romanian players.
Turkey
- P90 | Cold Blooded — $68.77 – $69.49
- M4A1-S | Mecha Industries — $17.78 – $87.28
Yes, yes, don’t be surprised, it’s another red and white kit, but this time for the Turkish national team. Those unfamiliar with the situation might wonder why Turkey is at the EURO, but that’s not our concern right now. Again, we forget about the details and simply find color matches.
Czech Republic
- AK-47 | Point Disarray — $7.21 – $34.12
- P90 | Schematic — $17.89 – $35
The last team on our list, and here we liked the association of the home kit with the AK-47 | Point Disarray. Similar shades, a unique texture, and even a match in mood when looking at the kit and the CS item. With the away kit, it was a bit simpler, but we got what we got.
In conclusion, this experiment showed that the team kits at the EURO are disappointing with their lack of originality and variety. It seems that designers do not put in any significant effort, pay no attention to details, and do not try to stand out. In this regard, they should definitely learn from skin creators, even though it’s a completely different industry. Working on these materials reminded us of the stickers from Majors that VALVE has been releasing in almost the same style since 2021. Fortunately, they allow community members to create skins, who are capable of putting their soul into their product.