After an 8 year long absence, the USMNT has finally managed to seal a berth at the upcoming 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Led by their talented flock of young stars in Christian Pulisic, Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie etc, the Americans will arrive in Qatar with high ambitions, and with the aim of advancing past the side that made it to the final sixteen back in 1994.
While the contingent that will travel to Qatar will certainly hope to make 2022 a memorable year for American Football, their kit sponsors Nike seem to have done the opposite by producing the blandest kits possible.
The home and away kits recently leaked online, and have made fans collectively hold their heads in disappointment.
The home kit, which appears to be the prime offender, is ridiculously plain, featuring a basic white colourway alongside blue on the collar and arm sleeves. The away variant sees a bit more creativity with a dark blue tie-dye graphic staring at the centre, giving the shirt a rather celestial look. Both kits will have the USMNT badge slotted in the centre, with the numbers placed right below it.
Overall, the kits remain highly unimaginative to such a degree that even the players themselves seemed dissatisfied.
Perhaps some neat details can be a saving grace, and one such detail can be spotted on the sleeves.
Fans are undoubtedly used to seeing the iconic Nike swoosh feature at the front of the shirt, but by the looks of it, the brand has opted for a different approach on this occasion. The swoosh is all set to feature on the sleeve of the kit, an approach primarily used for NFL jerseys.
This switch-up marks the first instance of the Swoosh being placed on the sleeve for a football kit and perhaps acts as a differentiating factor for the Yanks’ World Cup kit.
Will it be enough to convince the fans? Probably not, but we’ll hold off on any final assessments until the official release.