Daksh Vijay

Leaked Australia Kits For 2026 World Cup Look Like Candy and Vapes

Australia, Football Kits, Nike

It is an exciting time for Australian football fans, as they will see their team head to the 2026 World Cup, taking on opponents like host nation USA and Paraguay on the biggest stage in football.

The team, also known as the Socceroos, has had a fantastic record in terms of qualifying for the most recent World Cups. The country originally qualified for the tournament for the first time in 1974. Following that edition, the Socceroos were absent from the tournament for 32 years. They qualified again in 2006 for the World Cup in Germany and have qualified for every single edition since then.

Considering all the excitement around the team’s participation, it is only expected that the fans have the same level of excitement for the kits that the team will don.

However, reactions were a little more mixed when the final designs were released.

The home jersey fails to maintains the yellow colouring that has grown to become the visual identity of the Australian team. It appears to be light orange, highlighted by dark green accents on the V-neck collar and on stripes running down the side of the jersey. The Nike Swoosh and the Australian crest have also been placed in a dark green colour to maintain the colour combination. The jersey aims to reinforce the green and gold combination that the team is known for but fails miserably.

The home jersey has received mixed reviews, with some saying that it is a major improvement over the 2022 Jersey while others say the colour and the shades remind them of candy.

Many fans, while reacting to these jerseys, sounded their appreciation for the jerseys that the team donned in 2006 and 2014, deeming them as some of the best the team has worn.

The away jersey features a two-gradient design, with a coral pink design on top that fades into a dark teal for the rest of the jersey. It also features a round-necked collar with the Nike swoosh and the crest, both in white, against the colourful background. The jersey is said to be one of the most experimental ones released for Australia, heavily moving away from their regular visual identity of away kits being predominantly green.

Despite the experimental nature of these kits, fans have sounded their displeasure over the colour and gradients.

The dislike for the away kit was so severe that one Twitter user, VinceRugari, compared the colours of the jersey to those of a Vape.

“I said it when the leaks first dropped a few months ago: that is a guava-flavoured vape.”

The kits are set to go on sale by the end of this month. However, to add to the agony of the fans, the jerseys are set to be priced at atleast a 100 dollars or more based on past pricing trends. This situation once again raises the question of to what point fans should pay for a jersey before it becomes too expensive for them.

The Socceroos, as of right now, have no scheduled friendlies, which could see them debut the new jerseys directly in the World Cup on 14th June for their first group stage game in Vancouver against the winner of the European Play-off, which could be any of Turkey, Slovakia, Kosovo or Romania.

The European play-off spots are set to be decided with the final on 31st March.

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