Football
Austin Lindberg, Senior Editor 4y

U.S., South Korea and Nigeria get bold new Nike kits for 2020

The U.S. men's national team have been wearing the same white kit since 2018 -- the same kit they were meant to wear to the 2018 World Cup, had they qualified.

But no longer! The U.S. men and women both will wear brand new home and away kits in 2020.

The whites will feature patriotic nods like the red and white stripes on the back of the collar, or the red and blue striping on the cuffs, down the side panels and across the socks. The new darks will play on the U.S.'s nickname, "the States," by printing "States" on the back of the collar and featuring hand-drawn, abstract state borders throughout the shirt.

Nike captured data from more than 300 footballers, details like where they sweat to how fabric stretches over their physiques, and using that information they've created kits that wick away moisture 55% faster, are 13% more breathable and 10% stretchier than the brand's previous offerings.

The World Cup-winning women's team will debut the new dark kit on March 5 against England in the SheBelieves Cup (7 p.m. ET; watch live on ESPN2). They will don the whites when they take on Spain on March 8 (6 p.m. ET; watch live on ESPN). The men won't wear the new duds until their March tour of Europe, beginning on March 26 against the Netherlands (3:30 p.m. ET; watch live on ESPN2).

Nike also dropped new-for-2020 kits for Nigeria and South Korea.

The Korean Wave is seen on the home kit, featuring a wavy pattern made up of of the trigrams seen on the country's flag, elements that also appear within the names and numbers on the back of the shirt. A hand-drawn tiger print features prominently on the away kit, a nod to the guardian animal of Korean culture, symbolising courage and power.

It was always going to be difficult for Nigeria to live up to the hype of their last kit, but this one doesn't disappoint.

The home kit uses the traditional aesthetic of an agbada robe for inspiration, using another hand-drawn pattern that is symbolic of the country's heritage, with nods to nobility and family. Eagle feathers can be seen in players' names and numbers, and that pattern is incorporated into Nigeria's away kit as well.

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