The 2026 soccer World Cup is one of the most-watched events in the sports calendar—so, needless to say, appearances are important. But for many, the U.S. kit wasn’t quite right, leading to one designer catching strays when she revealed her role in the making of the kit on TikTok.
The viral video features Natalie (@natalievm) standing in the audience at a sports stadium singing the U.S. national anthem. Like most of the audience, she is donning a striped blue, white, and red U.S. World Cup jersey based on the kit that the soccer players are wearing.
Accompanying on-screen text reads: “No one here knows I was one of the designers of the U.S. kits.” The video garnered 532,400 views.
However, this revelation didn’t end up going down like Natalie thought it would.
What Did Commenters Say?
Commenters didn’t hold back.
“I would keep this to myself…” one wrote.
“USA kits look so bad,” a second added. “The colors just don’t look good together.”
A third sniped, “This ain’t the flex you think it is.”
While a fourth advised, “If the players chose this then the other option were way worse. Do better next time.”
Similarly, a fifth said, “Yea, as a soccer fan I was very disappointed. You did too much with them stripes. Other national teams are much simpler but they use the correct colors to make them look way better.”
Meanwhile, a sixth declared that “these were probably the worst kits I’ve ever had the displeasure of laying my eyes on.”
BroBible reached out to Natalie via TikTok direct message.
Nike Acknowledges World Cup Jersey Design Flaw
With the U.S. women’s soccer World Cup jerseys amassing similar criticism back in 2023, it’s arguable that people just like to hate on things. But this isn’t the first time flaws in the World Cup kit have been identified.
Back in April, Nike admitted that the 2026 FIFA World Cup jerseys had a design flaw. The flaw in question was an unusual bulge that is connected to the shoulder seam. Because it was uncovered so late in the process, there was no time to correct the mistake. That being said, the flaw is less obvious on the U.S. kits. This is because their rather “loud” design and color scheme detract from it. On other jerseys, such as France, it is more noticeable.
“During the recent international break, we observed a minor issue with our Nike national team kits, most noticeable around the shoulder seam,” Nike said in a statement to The Guardian. “Performance is unaffected, but the overall aesthetic is not where it needs to be.”
The sportswear brand continued: “We are a global team of best-in-class designers, creators and dreamers who spend every day thinking about how to innovate, challenge ourselves, and take risks that push the beautiful game. We always hold ourselves and our products to the highest standards, and this fell short. We’re working quickly to make this right for players and fans, because every kit should reflect the care, precision and pride that the game deserves.”
@natalievm Grateful 🤩🥹
The Guardian later reported that Nike had issued federations with special washing and steaming instructions to reduce the bulge’s appearance.