Puma, youB次元官网网址檙e all boxed in. Nike, what have you done to the U.S. and Canada? Adidas, youB次元官网网址檙e making a few style waves.
With millions at stake in retail sales, this yearB次元官网网址檚 in Qatar has soccer fans playing rate the shirt B次元官网网址� and what to buy. So far, thereB次元官网网址檚 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 B次元官网网址� and a few outspoken players? NikeB次元官网网址檚 effort for the U.S. team, which didnB次元官网网址檛 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 B次元官网网址淕hostbustersB次元官网网址� fame. And the U.S. away kit features ice-dyed black Rorschach blotches against royal blue.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 ugly,B次元官网网址� said 33-year-old fan Ryan Bender of the former. B次元官网网址淭he away ones look like training jerseys.B次元官网网址�
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). ThatB次元官网网址檚 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.
ThereB次元官网网址檚 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.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 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,B次元官网网址� Bender said of PumaB次元官网网址檚 kits.
While Bender has some favorites, and he isnB次元官网网址檛 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.
B次元官网网址淭he Nike and Puma kits are stunning,B次元官网网址� said Aron Solomon, 55, in Montreal. B次元官网网址淣ike did such a great job bringing clean lines and just the right shade of colors. Case in point is the Qatar home Jersey.B次元官网网址�
He was referring to the hostB次元官网网址檚 maroon kit with a serrated line of white triangles trimming sleeves in a design evoking the countryB次元官网网址檚 flag. Think sharkB次元官网网址檚 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 HummelB次元官网网址檚 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 theyB次元官网网址檝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.
B次元官网网址淚 just feel like every team should get a new kit for the World Cup because itB次元官网网址檚 a symbolic event. I donB次元官网网址檛 hate it, but I would have liked to have gotten a new kit, just because itB次元官网网址檚 something to cherish,B次元官网网址� 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 countryB次元官网网址檚 1908 home shirt.
B次元官网网址淚t looks like theyB次元官网网址檙e wearing a bib,B次元官网网址� he said.
The Adidas shirts for four-time World Cup champs Germany, along with Argentina, Mexico and the other countries it outfitted, include the companyB次元官网网址檚 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 NigeriaB次元官网网址檚 shirts the last time around. The creamy white kit has an all-over red design of Mixtec art outlines in celebration of MexicoB次元官网网址檚 fighting spirit. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a nod on the inside back collar to the pre-Columbian deity Quetzalcoatl (so named by the Aztecs), aka the Feathered Serpent.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e my most favorite of the whole tournament,B次元官网网址� said mega soccer fan Khloe Lewis, 27, in Somerville, Massachusetts. B次元官网网址淚 like the pattern and the contrast, but also that itB次元官网网址檚 inspired by historic, traditional Mexican design.B次元官网网址�
As a hot topic, debate over World Cup kits often churns among fans yearning for a jersey identity of their own.
B次元官网网址淜its get to the emotions. TheyB次元官网网址檙e something thatB次元官网网址檚 very close to peopleB次元官网网址檚 hearts and it makes them very, very vocal about them,B次元官网网址� said Mateo Kossman, a senior product manager on the Adidas soccer apparel team who worked on MexicoB次元官网网址檚 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 parentsB次元官网网址� home country.
Marquez is pleased with SpainB次元官网网址檚 classic home jersey in red from Adidas, worn with navy shorts and socks. The away kit B次元官网网址� the aways being generally more adventurous B次元官网网址� is another story. It has light blue swirls with faint digital lines on a white background and the countryB次元官网网址檚 bright red and yellow flag colors for the shoulder stripes in a grand show of disharmony.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like the thing that goes around a babyB次元官网网址檚 crib,B次元官网网址� Marquez said of the swirls.
The blog Four On Four called the look exquisite, dubbing the wavy design a B次元官网网址済eometric jellyfish pattern.B次元官网网址�
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 countryB次元官网网址檚 history to a vibrant purple for the away jersey. It depicts the Sun of May and its long rays from the countryB次元官网网址檚 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?
B次元官网网址淟ike everything we create, itB次元官网网址檚 important that the story is understood and told,B次元官网网址� said Andrew Dolan, an Adidas senior product manager who worked on the Argentina shirts. B次元官网网址淚 think everyone appreciates what weB次元官网网址檙e trying to do.B次元官网网址�
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, B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 good in its own way.B次元官网网址�
Zain supports Morocco, where his dad is from, but he, too, loves MexicoB次元官网网址檚 away extravaganza. He gets that most of the shirts among the 32 countries headed to Qatar have cultural meaning. That said, South KoreaB次元官网网址檚 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 countryB次元官网网址檚 flag.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like someone thought it was a good idea to get a paint gun and spray it all over the place. It did not work,B次元官网网址� Zain said.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a toss up on which look for the U.S. is more roundly despised by critics. The soccer-obsessed site Footy Headlines rated CanadaB次元官网网址檚 tragedy at the bottom among NikeB次元官网网址檚 efforts. The U.S. shirts were second to last.
B次元官网网址淚t looks like youB次元官网网址檇 wear it to a Grateful Dead concert,B次元官网网址� 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.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 rock it,B次元官网网址� Brandon Williams said of the same U.S. kit.
HeB次元官网网址檚 a Los Angeles menswear stylist for celebrities and star athletes, though no soccer players yet.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 wear it oversized with some hoochie daddy shorts (theyB次元官网网址檙e really short), some clean white Nike Air Force Ones and a backward snapback,B次元官网网址� Williams said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 throw a sweater over my shoulders like Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and IB次元官网网址檓 ready for Sunday brunch.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擫eanne Italie, The Associated Press
