New Balance Numeric Joins the Soccer Hype with a Folded Tongue 442 Skate Shoe

There’s no rule against using your hands in skateboarding, but unless you’re on a vert ramp, it’s almost as much of a faux pas as it is in soccer. With so much focus on the minutiae of the ankle flick and a strong drinking culture, skating and soccer are likely bedfellows. The connections extend just as strongly to footwear, where soccer cleats have long served as design influence for thin, grippy, cupsole skate shoes.

Soccer, Skating, Same Thing

With the World Cup bringing soccer to the forefront of sneaker culture, New Balance Numeric is the latest footwear label to embrace the beautiful game. Joining adidas Skateboarding and Nike SB’s soccer-themed releases, the New Balance Numeric 442 turns NB’s 442 indoor soccer shoe into a skate shoe, complete with a quilted suede upper, thin grippy outsole, and folded leather tongue.

Debuting in light blue suede with white stitching, white laces, and white branding on the NB# tongue logos and side panel “N” logo, a hit of black on the outsole brings it all together. In addition to the 442, the Nike SB Gato, Asics Leggerezza, and adidas Skateboarding Busenitz and Puig are all soccer-influenced silhouettes that have been hits with skaters.

New Balance Numeric 442 Release Details

The New Balance Numeric 442 will be released July 3, 2026, through New Balance and select skate shops in-store and online. Available in unisex sizing, the retail price is set at $125. For all the latest New Balance Numeric news and drop info, download the Sole Retriever App.

Zach Harris

Zach Harris is a writer based in Philadelphia. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Vice, Complex, High Times, and more. He is obsessed with skateboarding and bowling. He is still looking for his first 300. For tips, reviews, and anything in size 10.5 - zach.h@soleretriever.com