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Patrick Agyemang of the United States retrieves the ball from the net after scoring during the second half against Belgium during an international friendly at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on March 28, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
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As frustrating as the United States’ 5-2 friendly defeat to Belgium was in their second-to-last tune-up before the 2026 World Cup squad is announced later this spring, it may take a back seat to the confusion created in part by the Americans’ new home World Cup jersey.
The kit unveiled by Nike earlier this month has horizontal red-and-white stripes on the front and is a clear homage to the 13 bars of the Star-Spangled Banner, the American flag. The back, however, is solid white above the midriff, presumably in part to make the numbers on the jersey more visible.
It initially drew mostly positive reviews from the community of U.S. soccer fans. But then manager Mauricio Pochettino’s squad took the field at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium Saturday, where it became clear there might be a problem: Against a Belgium team wearing its Adidas-made, sky blue and cherry away kit, it was difficult – it not quite impossible – to tell the teams apart, particularly from a distance on television.
Perhaps it’s as simple as match authorities making the wrong decision on the day, beleiving that the European’s away strip would’ve been less of a clash than their famous red-and-black home number.
Or maybe it’s an explainer of why, despite the popularity of the striped pattern, the Americans have worn it so rarely, because they often become unwearable against so many potential foes.
It’s easy to forget that when the Americans previously hosted a World Cup in 1994, they also donned a red-and-white, vertically striped home jersey, then made by Adidas. It was the denim blue, star-adorned away jersey that became iconic, aided not only by it’s undeniable unique look, but also the fact that it’s the only shirt the Americans wore in the group stage while avoiding color clashes with Switzerland, Colombia and Romania. The Americans finally donned their home kit in 1994 in the round-of-16 against Brazil, which had no red or white in its color scheme.
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4 JUL 1994: ROMARIO OF BRAZIL SURGES PAST ALEXI LALAS OF USA DURING THE 1994 WORLD CUP FINALS SECOND ROUND MATCH AT STANFORD STADIUM IN PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA. Mandatory Credit: Chris Cole/ALLSPORT
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And while red-and-white vertical stripes are a very common look in club soccer – where teams often have three or more uniform options – in international play where teams customarilay have only a home and away getup, stripes are pretty uncommon.
Spurn Your Stripes?
The most famous are Argentina’s vertical white-and-sky blue pattern, an iconic look that has stood the test of time. But other than border rivals Uruguay, there are few other prominent nations around the world who regularly incorporate sky blue into their color scheme, lessening the potential for confusion on a match-to-match basis. The only other habitual example also comes from South America in Paraguay, which ironically also wears red-and-white stripes (albeit vertical) and is also in the United States’ four-team group at the World Cup.
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BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - SEPTEMBER 04: Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates after scoring the team's third goal during the South American FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Argentina and Venezuela at Estadio Más Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti on September 04, 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)
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In Concacaf, Honduras has historically worn blue-and-white vertical stripes, but in recent years has shifted toward solid white or solid blue more often than not for its home and away looks.
Presumably, the burden will be on Paraguay to wear a change uniform in the USMNT’s World Cup group opener, and the second match against Austrialia shouldn’t provide too many issues. But a potential group finale against Turkiye, (should they defeat Kosovo in their UEFA playoff next week) could cause problems.
A deeper run in the tournament is almost certain to bring color clash issues eventually: six of the top 10 in the current FIFA World Rankings wear either white or red as their home color.
That’s not necessarily a disaster for Nike. The USMNT is exponentially more exposed now than in 1994, with much more potential to dive jersey sales before the tournament begins. But it does make it pretty likely that if the Yanks do make iconic moments this summer, they will be doing so in their navy away strip and not the home look that first drew most of the attention.
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