Puma, you鈥檙e all boxed in. Nike, what have you done to the U.S. and Canada? Adidas, you鈥檙e making a few style waves.
With millions at stake in retail sales, this year鈥檚 in Qatar has soccer fans playing rate the shirt 鈥� and what to buy. So far, there鈥檚 no runaway winner that just might earn icon status like the sold-out-in-minutes during the last tournament in 2018.
Which kits definitely in the eyes of some hardcore fans 鈥� and a few outspoken players? Nike鈥檚 effort for the U.S. team, which didn鈥檛 qualify four years ago. An enlarged, simple country crest sits at the center on white home shirts perceived as bland, as opposed to classic. Nike relocated its swoosh logo to both sleeves.
A blue graphic at the neck has led to mocking comparisons to the Stay Puft marshmallow man of 鈥淕hostbusters鈥� fame. And the U.S. away kit features ice-dyed black Rorschach blotches against royal blue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 ugly,鈥� said 33-year-old fan Ryan Bender of the former. 鈥淭he away ones look like training jerseys.鈥�
Bender is a lifelong soccer player, youth coach and jersey collector in Los Angeles. He had few niceties in general for many of the kits of the big three outfitters: Nike (13 countries), Adidas (7) and Puma (6). That鈥檚 especially so for the array of front boxes, shields and other containers where numbers will go courtesy of Puma on away kits for Senegal, Morocco, Uruguay and more.
There鈥檚 particular ire for Puma over the QR code-like symbol of Switzerland. The idea overall, Puma said, was to highlight player numbers. It has also been likened among the grumpy to the iPhone calendar icon.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of lack of creativity there. And to be honest, a lot of them just look like jerseys you would find in a roadside shop,鈥� Bender said of Puma鈥檚 kits.
While Bender has some favorites, and he isn鈥檛 alone when it comes to derision for the U.S. shirts, not everybody is a hater in the every-four-years World Cup sweepstakes over shirts. The top three companies are joined by six other brands with one country each. Nike, Puma and Adidas have made the use of recycled materials a priority.
鈥淭he Nike and Puma kits are stunning,鈥� said Aron Solomon, 55, in Montreal. 鈥淣ike did such a great job bringing clean lines and just the right shade of colors. Case in point is the Qatar home Jersey.鈥�
He was referring to the host鈥檚 maroon kit with a serrated line of white triangles trimming sleeves in a design evoking the country鈥檚 flag. Think shark鈥檚 teeth.
Denmark took a bite out of Qatar when it unveiled a black jersey to go with two other kits. The black shirts, with maker Hummel鈥檚 logo faded out, honor migrant workers who died during construction work for the tournament.
As for his own country, Canada, Solomon is unbothered that the rejuvenated Les Rouges will take the pitch for their first World Cup appearance in 36 years wearing the same template-based kits they鈥檝e had since June 2021. The shirts are traditional red and white with a crest featuring a maple leaf.
Like a few U.S. players who speak publicly about their kits, Canada defender Sam Adekugbe is disappointed.
鈥淚 just feel like every team should get a new kit for the World Cup because it鈥檚 a symbolic event. I don鈥檛 hate it, but I would have liked to have gotten a new kit, just because it鈥檚 something to cherish,鈥� he told The Athletic.
Nike cites a different design cycle for Canada as the reason the country is going without.
Solomon has no love for Adidas-designed shirts, particularly the home jerseys of powerhouse Germany, where he lived for four years. It features a fierce wide black vertical stripe down the center against a white background in homage to the country鈥檚 1908 home shirt.
鈥淚t looks like they鈥檙e wearing a bib,鈥� he said.
The Adidas shirts for four-time World Cup champs Germany, along with Argentina, Mexico and the other countries it outfitted, include the company鈥檚 signature triple-line trim on the shoulders in various colors. Sort of like sporty epaulets.
Perhaps the most polarizing kit of the competition is the away look for Mexico, which some consider too flashy and others think will endure like Nigeria鈥檚 shirts the last time around. The creamy white kit has an all-over red design of Mixtec art outlines in celebration of Mexico鈥檚 fighting spirit. There鈥檚 a nod on the inside back collar to the pre-Columbian deity Quetzalcoatl (so named by the Aztecs), aka the Feathered Serpent.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e my most favorite of the whole tournament,鈥� said mega soccer fan Khloe Lewis, 27, in Somerville, Massachusetts. 鈥淚 like the pattern and the contrast, but also that it鈥檚 inspired by historic, traditional Mexican design.鈥�
As a hot topic, debate over World Cup kits often churns among fans yearning for a jersey identity of their own.
鈥淜its get to the emotions. They鈥檙e something that鈥檚 very close to people鈥檚 hearts and it makes them very, very vocal about them,鈥� said Mateo Kossman, a senior product manager on the Adidas soccer apparel team who worked on Mexico鈥檚 shirts.
Come Nov. 20, when the World Cup begins, soccer will dominate at the sports bar Das Beer Garden in Jupiter, Florida. Growing up in Caracas, 44-year-old co-owner Alex Marquez began playing the Beautiful Game in first grade. He roots for the U.S., Venezuela and Spain, the latter his parents鈥� home country.
Marquez is pleased with Spain鈥檚 classic home jersey in red from Adidas, worn with navy shorts and socks. The away kit 鈥� the aways being generally more adventurous 鈥� is another story. It has light blue swirls with faint digital lines on a white background and the country鈥檚 bright red and yellow flag colors for the shoulder stripes in a grand show of disharmony.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like the thing that goes around a baby鈥檚 crib,鈥� Marquez said of the swirls.
The blog Four On Four called the look exquisite, dubbing the wavy design a 鈥済eometric jellyfish pattern.鈥�
Argentina switched it up, color wise, for its away shirts. Adidas rolled out a classic white and blue stripe home kit but veered for the first time in the country鈥檚 history to a vibrant purple for the away jersey. It depicts the Sun of May and its long rays from the country鈥檚 flag, though the rays and a background design look like flames. The purple is meant to represent gender equality, and overall diversity and inclusion. And the Adidas triple lines on the shoulders match!
How has the purple played among World Cup fans?
鈥淟ike everything we create, it鈥檚 important that the story is understood and told,鈥� said Andrew Dolan, an Adidas senior product manager who worked on the Argentina shirts. 鈥淚 think everyone appreciates what we鈥檙e trying to do.鈥�
At 10, Zain Ennaoui is a small fan with big opinions on soccer shirts. Of the new purple for Argentina, which has some soccer buffs rattled, the Brooklyn fifth-grader said politely, 鈥淚t鈥檚 good in its own way.鈥�
Zain supports Morocco, where his dad is from, but he, too, loves Mexico鈥檚 away extravaganza. He gets that most of the shirts among the 32 countries headed to Qatar have cultural meaning. That said, South Korea鈥檚 away kit of many colors (black with yellow, blue and red brush strokes) is a tough sell for him, despite its nod to Taegeukgi, the symbol on the country鈥檚 flag.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like someone thought it was a good idea to get a paint gun and spray it all over the place. It did not work,鈥� Zain said.
It鈥檚 a toss up on which look for the U.S. is more roundly despised by critics. The soccer-obsessed site Footy Headlines rated Canada鈥檚 tragedy at the bottom among Nike鈥檚 efforts. The U.S. shirts were second to last.
鈥淚t looks like you鈥檇 wear it to a Grateful Dead concert,鈥� said Kent Gethmann, 38, in Spencer, Iowa, of the blue and black away shirt.
That, the idea of lending street life to World Cup wear, might just be the point.
鈥淚鈥檇 rock it,鈥� Brandon Williams said of the same U.S. kit.
He鈥檚 a Los Angeles menswear stylist for celebrities and star athletes, though no soccer players yet.
鈥淚鈥檇 wear it oversized with some hoochie daddy shorts (they鈥檙e really short), some clean white Nike Air Force Ones and a backward snapback,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚鈥檇 throw a sweater over my shoulders like Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and I鈥檓 ready for Sunday brunch.鈥�
鈥擫eanne Italie, The Associated Press
