Woman reveals she helped design the U.S. World Cup kit, but the response wasn’t what she expected

A woman who said she was one of the designers behind the U.S. soccer kit for the 2026 FIFA World Cup shared a video on TikTok while attending a match, revealing her role to her audience. However, according to the comments left on the video, the reaction she received didn’t seem to be positive.

The video was posted by a TikTok user named Natalie, who goes by the handle @natalievm. In the clip, she is seen standing in the crowd at a soccer stadium, wearing the red, white, and blue striped U.S. World Cup jersey and singing along to the national anthem. On-screen text overlaid on the video reads: “No one here knows I was one of the designers of the U.S. kits.” The video has since garnered 532,400 views.

The post appeared to be intended as a behind-the-scenes reveal, but the comments section told a different story. Viewers did not appear to share the same enthusiasm, and many were openly critical of the kit’s design.

Most viewers say they disliked the design

Several commenters took issue with the jersey’s appearance. “I wanted to buy a USA jersey but this one is not it,” one user wrote. Another suggested that the criticism may be coming from people unfamiliar with the team’s history, writing: “Everyone saying ‘do better’ clearly weren’t USMNT fans prior to 2014.” 

A third commenter appeared to question whether TikTok was even the right platform for soccer discourse, writing: “I’m learning real soccer fans are not on tik tok lol.” This public call-out of a governing body’s pricing is reminiscent of other fan-driven controversies, such as when a creator confronted FIFA over World Cup ticket prices.

One commenter offered a slightly different take, suggesting the players may have had some say in the final design: “If the players chose this then the other option were way worse. Do better next time.” Another sarcastically commented: “This ain’t the flex you think it is.”

Criticism of the U.S. kit does not seem to be entirely new. According to Brobible, the U.S. women’s soccer World Cup jerseys drew similar backlash back in 2023, suggesting that strong public opinions on national team kits have become a recurring pattern around major tournaments.

Separately, Nike acknowledged earlier this year that the 2026 FIFA World Cup jerseys had a design flaw. According to a statement the brand made to The Guardian, the issue involved an unusual bulge near the shoulder seam that was discovered during the international break. Nike said that because the flaw was found late in the process, there was not enough time to make corrections before the kits went into use.

Nike stated that the flaw was less noticeable on the U.S. jerseys specifically, reportedly because the bold stripes and color scheme of the kit draw attention away from the seam area. On other national team jerseys, such as France’s, the issue was said to be more visible.

In its statement, Nike said: “During the recent international break, we observed a minor issue with our Nike national team kits, most noticeable around the shoulder seam. Performance is unaffected, but the overall aesthetic is not where it needs to be.” 

The brand added: “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.”

Nike did not specify in its statement which kits were most affected or what steps would be taken to address the issue going forward. The tournament’s massive scale has also lead to unique off-pitch stories, like the TSA warning fans about hoarding ranch dressing on flights home.