The U.S. World Cup Away Jersey Looks Exactly Like a Firecracker Pop

The good news, the Americans are only scheduled as the “away” team in their first Group G match vs. Ghana on June 16. The bad news, it means the team will wear their dull, uninspired, England-lite white polo shirts in critical games against Portugal and Germany.

The jersey will make its debut Wednesday night when the U.S. takes on Mexico in a friendly played in Glendale, Ariz. (ESPN, 11 p.m.)

At least Clint Dempsey apparently likes the look, as quoted in the U.S. Soccer news release, “I really like the new, patriotic colorway,” he said. “It’s a distinctive design that looks great on the pitch. They will serve us well as we head into a competitive group.”

Despite Dempsey’s lovely boilerplate quote, this looks like a swing-and-miss by the Swoosh. I thought it was up to Adidas to design the ugly-looking kits. Oh well.

American soccer fans still long for the return of the legendary 1994 Denim Kit. Now THAT is is an away jersey done right.

I don’t know much about fashion, but denim is back in. Sheesh. On the upside, my wallet will be $149.99 richer.

(*) These are also called Bomb Pomps depending on the region of the country you live, but the comparison stands regardless.

UPDATE: Here’s what the full kit looks like on Dempsey. It’s a lot of red.