The Shirt That Started It All: USA ’98 and the Generation It Built

Tonight, the United States face Turkey in their final group game at the 2026 World Cup — already through as Group D winners, with back-to-back wins over Paraguay and Australia. It’s the best start to a World Cup for the USMNT since 1930. Folarin Balogun is lighting up the tournament. Gio Reyna is finally doing what everyone always knew he could. Christian Pulisic, even sidelined with injury, is the heartbeat of the squad.

American soccer has arrived. But it didn’t happen overnight.

Wind back twenty-eight years, and a different generation of American players were pulling on these shirts in France — white with the iconic navy polo collar, navy with red Swoosh — and competing on the world’s biggest stage. The 1998 World Cup was painful for the US. They lost all three group games, finished bottom of Group F, and came home early. But something was planted in France that summer, something that’s been growing ever since.

Here’s the story of the ’98 squad — and the generation of players those shirts inspired.

The 1998 Squad: More Talented Than History Remembers

The narrative around USA at France ’98 is mostly negative. Three defeats, one goal scored, knocked out in the group stage. Coach Steve Sampson made controversial selections and fell out with key players. It was, by most measures, a disaster.

But look at the individual players in that squad, and you’ll find a generation of genuine quality.

Claudio Reyna was the heartbeat of the team — a technically gifted midfielder who went on to play for Rangers, Sunderland, Manchester City and Wolfsburg. Considered one of the most technically accomplished American players of his era, Reyna wore the number 10 with real authority. His son, Giovanni Reyna, is currently doing the same at the 2026 World Cup.

Brian McBride was the lone bright spot in France, scoring the USMNT’s only goal of the tournament — a late diving header against Iran in what was dubbed one of the most politically charged matches in World Cup history. McBride went on to become a cult figure at Fulham in the Premier League, one of the most respected American exports of his generation.

Kasey Keller was between the sticks — a commanding goalkeeper who spent years in English football with Millwall, Leicester and Tottenham. Despite the results in France, Keller was one of the better keepers at the tournament.

Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones, Tab Ramos, Eric Wynalda — pioneers who had helped build the game from the grassroots up following the success of USA ’94. They weren’t stars by European standards, but they were laying foundations.

The Kids Who Were Watching

When the USMNT walked out in Lyon and Nantes and Paris in the summer of 1998, a generation of American kids was glued to their TVs.

Christian Pulisic was born in 1998 — the very year of those World Cup games. He grew up idolising the players who came after that generation, the ones who built on what ’98 started: Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey. Now Pulisic is the one the next generation idolises.

Giovanni Reyna — son of Claudio — was born in 2002, four years after his father wore the number 10 shirt in France. When Gio scored with the outside of his right foot against Paraguay to make it 4-1 on the opening night of this World Cup, it was a full-circle moment.

Folarin Balogun — the breakout star of 2026 — wasn’t even born when those games were played. But the tournament he’s starring in was made possible, in part, by the generation of 1998.

What France ’98 Meant for American Soccer

The disaster of France accelerated a reckoning within US Soccer. The federation doubled down on youth development, academies, and the pathway from MLS into European football. Within four years, the USMNT reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup — their best result since 1930.

The shirts those players wore in 1998 are now collector’s items. The white home shirt — clean, minimal, that deep navy polo collar — is one of the most distinctive Nike designs of the 90s. The navy away shirt is rarer still.

The Kits Are Back

We’ve just dropped both the USA 1998 World Cup Home Shirt and the USA 1998 World Cup Away Shirt — and with the USMNT flying at their home World Cup right now, there’s never been a better time to own a piece of that history.

Both feature embroidered crests and Swoosh, period-accurate mesh fabric, and the signature twin navy and red stripe detailing.