Fan spotted the leaked USMNT World Cup kit at a store and it was awful

After an eight-year absence from the World Cup, the US men’s national team returns to the global stage at this winter’s tournament in Qatar. But in true US soccer fashion, the federation has already managed to disappoint fans before the team even steps onto the field.

Earlier this week, multiple photos of the apparent World Cup kits surfaced on social media, drawing widespread slam from fans (and USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie). The leaked kits took the current Nike training jersey template, centered the crest and forgoed a distinctive look for the USMNT. While the Waldo kits from 2012, “Bomb Pops” from 2014 and the wannabe World Cup jerseys from 2018 showed creativity, this year’s kits looked like something you would find from an off-brand wholesaler.

And somehow the jerseys look even worse in the wild.

A fan found the leaked USMNT home jerseys for sale at Dick’s Sporting Goods – they tried to buy them but were told they couldn’t sell them yet and they were on display by mistake 😅 pic.twitter.com/lBZpwc25kl

– USMNT Only (@usmntonly) August 18, 2022

A fan posted on TikTok that they spotted the long sleeve version of the home shirt at Dick’s Sporting Goods but couldn’t buy the shirt because it was accidentally put on display. According to the post, the official release date is September 21, which will give fans a solid month to accept the upcoming disappointment of an uninspired kit at the World Cup.

But man, they really are awful. And the long-sleeved version is actually more reminiscent of an ice hockey jersey than anything that should be worn at a World Cup game in Qatar. The product code on the label also goes to a Listing for “Nike USA L/S Home Jersey – 2022”. So if you’re hoping for misdirection, you’ll inevitably be disappointed here.

As expected, fans had nothing good to say about this latest look of the USMNT jersey.