All you see on the ice during the second men’s hockey semifinal at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan are red, white and blue jerseys everywhere.
One thing both the United States and Slovakia men’s hockey teams have in common are their nations’ colors. From the colors to the design, the jerseys are eerily similar.
They are some pretty cool looking jerseys, but have some empathy for the average fan, new fans, or those just tuning in to watch sports — this is hard to follow.
No shame, even the best of the best are having to lock in on who’s who. Maybe it was by design. Here’s what we know:
Who designed the USA men’s ice hockey jerseys?
The United States men’s and women’s ice hockey jerseys, designed by Nike, take inspiration from the iconic jersey worn by Team USA at the 1960 Winter Olympics, the first Olympic gold medal in U.S. hockey history.
Their home jersey is white, while the away is royal blue.
The jerseys have ‘USA’ going diagonal across the chest, a gold-accented USA hockey crest as an ode to the nation’s success at the Olympics near the shoulder and the words ‘land of the free, home of the brave’ located inside the collar.
Who designed the Slovakia men’s ice hockey jersey?
Nike also designed new jerseys for Slovakia, which also has white, red and blue as national colors.
It includes a silhouette of the Tatra Mountains across the players’ chests. For them, it’s a sense of the pride, strength and perseverance that Slovak hockey players represent on the ice all over the world.
Their jersey also features symbolic gestures to Slovakia, including the first words of the Slovak anthem, “Nad Tatrou sa blýska’ which translates to ‘lightning over the Tatras.’
Reactions to USA-Slovakia jersey similarities
Check out these reactions across social media: