On top of attending history-making matches, fans at the World Cup also use the occasion to flaunt their country’s colors and pay tribute to soccer legends. While the most common way to do it is by sporting a jersey of your favorite team or player, a team of Slovakia-based creatives are turning heads around Qatar (host of the 2022 tournament) with their amazing costumes. Covered in mirrors, these detailed soccer cosplays create an amazing optical illusion—it's like they just walked out of a video game.
The masterminds behind these soccer costumes are a company called Maskbusters, who specialize in these kind of suits and offer them as entertainment for parties and events. The characters the cosplays depict are key to the history of soccer. There’s one with a yellow shirt representing Pelé, widely regarded as the greatest player of all time since he led Brazil to win the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970. There’s a character in a red jersey that portrays Cristiano Ronaldo, star of the Portugal national team and one of the top players in the world today. And finally, a third character depicts a referee, ready to show anyone not enjoying the party a red card.
The quality of these costumes has captured the attention of fans and journalists alike at the World Cup, which has turned them into a viral craze on social media. A video of the Pelé character walking outside a stadium earned over 129,000 upvotes on Reddit, while a clip from Sportbible gathered more than 727,000 likes on TikTok.
Even if most soccer fans have followed the tournament from home and haven't been able to see them in person, the magic of these mirror cosplays translates very well to the screen. This has led users to express their admiration and surprise across the internet. “This is so sick. 10/10 idea and 11/10 execution,” says one Redditor; while another exclaims, “Best costume I have seen on the internet.”
Although both teams are now out of the tournament, their colors and stars can still cause awe among those awaiting the rise of a new World Cup champion.
Maskbusters: Website h/t: [Reddit]
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