The USMNT Home World Cup Jersey Is Making News, And Not The Good Kind

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) Getty Images 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.