Fashion police: How FIFA works to prevent World Cu...

playCan USMNT go all the way in the World Cup? (2:03) Within minutes of kickoff in the U.S. men's national team's March friendly against Belgium, everyone in the stadium -- not to mention all the viewers watching on TV -- realized there was a problem: The teams' uniforms looked too much alike. Like, way, way too much alike. "Everyone was a bit shocked," Christian Pulisic said. "It definitely was a little bit difficult whenever you do like a quick glance to tell which was which," Weston McKennie said. It was a nightmare. And with a slew of high-stakes FIFA World Cup matches now taking place, involving 48 teams who have uniforms that run across the spectrum of the rainbow, the confusion of that U.S.-Belgium color catastrophe raises two key questions: First, how did that mix-up happen? And second, with the eyes of the world on these critical games, could it happen again? Before any high-level soccer game, there is some form of prematch communication between the teams in which the logistics of the match are discussed. For official tournament games, that communication can border on monotonously in-depth (more on that in a moment), but for friendlies, it's usually succinct. With U.S.-Belgium, the communication about which uniforms the teams would wear was primarily electronic, according to multiple sources. The federations -- both of which wanted to feature new uniforms that were being launched ahead of the World Cup -- exchanged via email what are known as "kit CADs," which stands for computer-aided design and is essentially a graphic representation of a team's uniform. Looking at the kit CADs of the U.S.'s red-and-white striped jersey and Belgium's multicolor, light-blue shirt with pink patterns, one certainly wouldn't think there would be a massive visual conflict. "The problem is that the computer isn't real," said one high-level soccer executive who has worked on the uniform protocols for numerous international matches. "And so you have a scenario where in reality, both kits ending up looking primarily white, especially from the back." The back element is important. The large "number plate" -- the white box on the back of the U.S. jersey that shows the player's numeral -- intensified the clash, as the back of the Belgium jerseys also appeared especially light under the bright stadium lighting. Ironically, in a previous iteration of the stripes jersey, worn in 2012, the U.S. didn't have a number plate at all and that presented a different problem, as officials and broadcasters couldn't make out many of the numbers since they were swallowed up by the stripes. This time, the white plate hurt more than it helped. The white number plates on the back of the USMNT's home kit made for some confusion when it hosted Belgium and its pink-blue away top for a March friendly. Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images"In this case, it feels like the stars just aligned in a bad way for everyone," the executive said. "Then you add in the stadium lighting and the cameras, and it just looks so different than you would expect just looking at the graphics. I can see why no one would have predicted it." Of course, compounding the issue was that neither team was able to change. The U.S., as the home team, had priority in uniform choice but would have changed if its blue uniforms were available; alas, they were back at the team's hotel, according to multiple sources. And Belgium, who might have had all it kits with it since it was traveling after the match, unfortunately had already shipped much of its team luggage, including its other jerseys, onto the site of its next game. "I can't imagine how frustrated the equipment staffs must have felt," said one kit man, who has worked for a national team at multiple World Cups. "To see something that bad and not be able to fix it is basically our disaster scenario." As disappointing as the U.S.-Belgium situation was for the players (and everyone watching on television), the reality, according to multiple sources, is that it's incredibly unlikely to ever see anything similar during a World Cup match. For anyone who follows world soccer, it won't be surprising to learn that at a World Cup, FIFA controls everything about what each team will wear. So, while both the U.S. and Belgium were determined to show off their new jerseys during that friendly, if the fixture had been a tournament match, FIFA would have forced one of the teams to wear a different uniform that wasn't even close to the same shade. Team preference isn't a factor. Predict the final standings in every Group. $10,000 in prizes. Make Your Picks "You don't get to pick anything," the executive said. "Months before the tournament begins, you have to submit examples of everything -- jerseys, shorts, socks, even things that people never use anymore like goalkeeper hats. You send all of that in, and FIFA puts together the matchups however they want." (As an aside: The kit man, who was responsible for sending su

Fashion police: How FIFA works to prevent World Cu...

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