The United States men’s national team made a statement on Friday.
Not with their performance, their tactical adjustments, or effort.
But with their jersey.
For the first time in decades, the players genuinely love what they’re wearing on the pitch during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In their opening match against Paraguay, Team USA wore their striking home “Stripes” kit, a bold red-and-white design inspired by the American flag.
They will wear the same jersey again for their second group-stage match against Australia on June 19 before they switch to their navy-blue “Stars” kit in their final match of the group against Turkey in Los Angeles on June 23.
The goalkeepers wore bright yellow kits against Paraguay, but will change to blue against Australia in Seattle. They’ll wear the bright yellow again against Turkey.
For the American players, the jerseys represent far more than a marketing launch. They are the result of a three-year collaboration between Nike and the current generation of players determined to avoid what happened during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Those jerseys were a plain white home shirt and an ice-blue away design that was met with widespread criticism. Fans hated them. The players disliked them even more.
“Wrong athletes,” USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams famously joked when discussing Nike’s consultation process with athletes.
Thankfully, the criticism of those kits launched the creation of the current kits for the first World Cup on home soil since 1994. Beginning in 2023, Nike designers traveled across the country gathering feedback from U.S. supporters before sitting down with players such as Adams, Weston McKennie, Matt Turner, and Ricardo Pepi.
Nike asked them all a simple question:
What should an American World Cup jersey look and feel like?
The answers all aligned: heritage, swagger, identity and unmistakable American symbolism.
The result became a modern interpretation of two pieces of U.S. Soccer history.
The home “Stripes” kit borrows inspiration from the iconic “Waldo” jerseys of the early 2010s while also tipping its cap to the 1994 World Cup. Its horizontal red-and-white bands feature a subtle wave effect, designed to mimic Old Glory fluttering in the breeze.
The away “Stars” kit completes the patriotic pairing perfectly. The deep navy base is covered with silver stars woven into the fabric, creating a sophisticated look that feels understated. Nike designers said the metallic accents were inspired by the jewelry and personal style the players wear off the field.
“It’s pretty straightforward,” Adams said. “[We have] to have stars and stripes of some sort on our kit, right? So we decided to go navy blue with silver stars, which I think represents us perfectly. I think that’s just going to be an all-time classic jersey.”
Nike was on board.
“We wanted to make sure we found something that was undeniably American,” Nike executive Jordy Romick said.
Mission accomplished.
The players were excited to spot the jerseys they helped design in the stands for their match against Paraguay.
They’re even more excited to see fans flood streets, stadiums, and watch parties in them throughout the country over the next six weeks.
But there’s one more thing the players want from these jerseys.
“The moments a player makes in a jersey are what makes a kit iconic,” USMNT attacker Folarin Balogun said.
Some of those moments were created on Friday. Many more are to follow. The memories are what comes next.
