The United States World Cup 2026 away kit is here - it's a retooling of a true kit design icon

The United States World Cup 2026 kits are here and the echoes of 1994 are loud and proud.

World Cup kits for the host nation are always highly anticipated in football and lifestyle circles and USA being one of the host nations this year makes that particularly true in 2026.

Nike have drawn inspiration from arguably the USA's greatest-ever shirt, the glorious denim stars shirt from the World Cup in 1994. The refreshed imagining looks very different but the clues are all there.

The United States World Cup 2026 away kit brings the stars of 1994 back to the world stage

The USA hosted World Cup 1994 and stole the show with a denim-effect beauty of a kit that celebrated the 'stars' part of the Stars & Stripes.

Along with a modernised look for the wavy stripes home kit, Nike have updated and regenerated an iconic World Cup kit combination. The wavy stripes of the home kit remain and the stars are back on the away kit, albeit not in the same way as the mid-nineties shirt.

USA's away kit is a blacked-out reimagining of the famous denim stars from USA 94. Adorned with oversized tonal stars, the shirt features a monochrome USA badge and bold red piping.

An otherwise nicely constructed kit might have benefited from a collar design with more conviction, but the simplicity of the colour palette goes a long way.

We'll reserve judgment on the red trim until we see the kit in full match motion, but we think it might look rather dashing.

In FourFourTwo's opinion, the original denim away kit – recently re-released by Adidas – was magical but the 2026 incarnation is as neat a renewal as can reasonably be expected.

The home kit, at least on the front, has the edge.

Nike haven't shied away from the USA's World Cup heritage with their kits for World Cup 2026 and this year's designs will be heavily scrutinised by fans and collectors alike.

The away kit is a reinterpretation in homage rather than a reboot, and that's surely the smart move.

What do you think? Is the black stars kit a fitting tribute to a true classic? Let us know in the comments below...