After trying (and failing) to build suspense for World Cup jerseys that had already been leaked, Nike and U.S. Soccer confirmed Thursday that the U.S. men’s national team will indeed wear the much-maligned kits in Qatar.
In separate announcements — the first coming from Nike in the early morning hours — fans got an official look at the jerseys that had been almost universally hated by a fanbase that doesn’t typically agree on much. The home jersey features a centered crest, Nike logos on the sleeves and sleeve striping more reminiscent of American football jerseys. The away kit will be a blue and dark blue tie-dye shirt with the centered crest.
Ready for the big stage. 🇺🇸#USMNT x @nikefootball
— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) September 15, 2022
The USMNT drop their home and away kits for the 2022 World Cup 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/NuLWtxAyzs
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 15, 2022
There are almost too many issues with the home jersey to list. First of all, it comes directly from a Nike template currently being used in training kits seen for European teams like PSG and Barcelona. Stunning lack of creativity aside, it just doesn’t look like a soccer jersey. And that’s because Nike admitted that they borrowed elements from basketball, American football and hockey rather than highlighting any distinct look for American soccer. Via Yahoo Sports:
Nike, which has not yet responded to detailed questions from Yahoo Sports about how the kits came to be, said in its release that the white “uniform design cues include bold stripes, an enlarged center crest akin to basketball jerseys, double Swooshes on the sleeves reminiscent of those used on American football jerseys, the unique shoulder and sleeve cut-and-sew construction and pattern of a hockey jersey, and timeless block lettering.”
Big yikes. That *enormous* block lettering really has the jersey resembling a hockey or NFL jersey, which is not ideal.
And for the away kit, Nike believed it was paying homage to American fashion and streetwear by utilizing a tie-dye design.
The whole set is a disappointment when you consider that fans waited eight years for these kits. They hated the jerseys when they leaked this past month, and fans hated the jerseys on Thursday.