Scotland will not be wearing their famous navy home strip in their World Cup opener against Haiti, due to a kit clash created by an obscure FIFA rule governing goalkeeper colours.
As the designated home side, Haiti are entitled to wear their white home strip, with their goalkeeper choosing yellow. That decision sets off a chain reaction dictating what Scotland are permitted to wear. With Haiti’s goalkeeper in yellow, Scotland’s goalkeeper must wear blue — which in turn rules out the Scotland outfield players from wearing their own blue kit, despite there being no direct colour clash between the two teams’ shirts.
As a result, Scotland will play in their red away kit, paired with purple shorts and red socks, while goalkeeper Angus Gunn will wear a sky-blue kit for shirt, shorts and socks. The full change of colours is designed to ensure maximum contrast for match officials and television cameras.
The match kicks off at 2am UK time on Sunday 14 June, equivalent to 9pm ET and 6pm PT on Saturday 13 June. The Group C fixture takes place at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, with a sold-out crowd expected including large numbers of travelling Scotland supporters.
This will be the first ever senior international meeting between the two nations, giving both managers a blank slate as the fixture marks new territory in the history of both teams.
