Clash of kit colours in US vs Belgium friendly causes confusion for players & fans

The two sides took advantage of the game to introduce their fresh kits intended for the World Cup from 11 June to 19 July, an event cohosted by Canada and Mexico.

Team USA donned an outfit inspired by the red and white stripes of their national flag, whereas Belgium opted for their alternative strip in pale blue featuring pink highlights.

"Sometimes you had to look twice, especially if you wanted to play quickly," remarked Belgian forward Jeremy Doku to his home broadcasters postmatch. "I would have preferred clearer colours."

US skipper Christian Pulisic admitted the challenge it posed.

“A lot of times you get the ball and you look up, you can't really lock in on something. You only can base it off the colour of the shirt. That's how it works," he explained to the press. "And when it's very similar, it's difficult."

Belgium's TV network issued an apology to audiences following the fixture, as pundit and exinternational Marc Degryse lambasted the event planners.

“Football is a product that needs to be sold. Everything always has to be better and better, yet they still managed to make the match annoying with the jerseys," he commented.

"This goes completely against the whole commercial aspect. This is really unacceptable."

US Soccer Federation noted that images of the kits were shared with the officials beforehand, and they never raised concerns about any clash.

Reports in Belgian outlets on Sunday pointed the blame at the home team, who pushed to wear their brandnew red and white attire, conflicting with Belgiums primary red kit and even the brighter away version.

Both nations aimed to debut their updated kits publicly, but upon realising the issue, Belgium suggested using their classic red, according to the accounts.

Yet that proved unfeasible due to the heavy red elements in the US design. An alternative might have been the US switching to their navy blue option, though it conflicted with their marketing strategy, the pieces concluded.