Review: Lay's 3 World Cup Flavors Almost Nail The Hat Trick

The World Cup is returning to North America for the first time since 1994. A lot has changed in 32 years, mainly how the match ticket prices have become beyond unaffordable, but much has remained the same — like plenty of official partners and sponsors lined-up to help. For the last World Cup in 2022, Lay's was a North American Regional Supporter, and to help support the spirit of this global competition, it released three bags of chips capturing international flavors. Four years later, Lay's is at it again, but this time, it is now an official sponsor, and upping the ante on the chips this time around. For such a global game, Lay's is trying to level the playing field by releasing 40 unique international flavors, with three hitting shelves in the U.S. Welcome to the states Lay's Argentinian‑Style Steak with Chimichurri, Lay's Brazilian‑Style Garlic Sauce, and Lay's Wavy French Onion Soup! Insert passport approval stamp sound here.

Chips that taste like steak, a garlicky sauce, and a famous French soup sounds like a complete meal to me, but perhaps these flavors are more like a complete mess. Before the games really begin, these chips are kicking off the festivities. So, are they worth celebrating, or should they be given a red card and sent off the pitch? The Takeout took out a bag of each to see where the truth lies. All can now be revealed in this crunchy chew and review.

In advance of their arrival on shelves, the fine folks over at Lay's sent a bag of each of its World Cup Globally Inspired Flavored chips to my door, for sampling. Each of the chip flavors were tried multiple times, at home, but also at an actual soccer pitch, to get a real sense of these chips and their reason for being.

This chew and review is a summation of my own personal tastes and opinions. I also took into consideration my previous experiences with Lay's, these worldly flavors in their natural forms, and my current experience with these new offerings. The ultimate criteria considered for this review were flavor, presentation, smell, familiarity, originality, uniqueness, value, and ultimately whether you should grab a bag yourself.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

In honor of the 2026 World Cup, Lay's is introducing 40 limited‑edition chip flavors across the world, with each bag borrowing the flavors from a certain country. The United States will see three of these 40 flavors on shelves: Lay's Argentinian‑Style Steak with Chimichurri, Lay's Brazilian‑Style Garlic Sauce, and Lay's Wavy French Onion Soup.

Lay's Argentinian‑Style Steak with Chimichurri (the only sauce worth serving on steak) is obviously inspired by Argentine cuisine, with this flavor housing a steak taste blended with cilantro, lemon, basil, bay, thyme, oregano, parsley, and garlic. A similarly flavored chip — Messi Argentinian Style Steak Potato Chips — was released in 2025 to honor the soccer legend and the tastes of his home country. Lay's new Brazilian‑Style Garlic Sauce chips unite the talents of buttery garlic and creamy dairy, with lemon for a reportedly "tangy kick for a savory finish inspired by Brazil's love for bold, layered tastes." Lay's Wavy French Onion Soup drafts aged cheddar cheese and fine herbs to try and mimic the classic dish.

As mentioned earlier, this is the second time Lay's has done a World Cup-inspired line of chips. The first occurred in 2022, with three flavors: Lay's Abobadas, Lay's Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Popper, and Lay's Wavy Carnitas Street Tacos.

My flavor trip around the world kicked off with the imported wonders of Lay's Argentinian‑Style Steak with Chimichurri — tastes I am overly familiar with, and enjoy. I tore open the bag, took a quick whiff, and the vibes that the chips were giving off were purely sour cream and onion. Once I laid these Lay's into a bowl, the chips visually also seemed to hail from some likeminded branch of the brand's sour cream and onion family tree. A closer smell test revealed a more garlicky sense to it.

Before taking a bite, I had a lick of the chip — which usually gives you a better sense of the intended flavor. I was pleasantly surprised at the results of this first taste contact. It was as if I was licking a bowl of fresh pico de gallo, and I honestly couldn't believe that that had just happened. As I began chomping on the chips, I wasn't able to discern any sort of beefiness to it whatsoever. That was completely fine by me, as meat-flavored chips aren't usually the most enjoyable ones to munch on. What I got instead was a vibrant tasting chip that captured the essence of the chimichurri seasoning. With such a perfect representation of chimichurri, I was left curious as to why the "steak" got the headline larger point size on the bag. This is an observation, not a complaint, of a bag you need to put your hand into.

Next on the itinerary was a flavor from a neighbor of Argentina — Brazil. The flavor Lay's borrowed from the soccer giant was a Brazilian‑Style Garlic Sauce. On name alone, that actually didn't mean much to me. I have enjoyed many a trips to a Brazilian BBQ and scarfing down all its well seasoned cuts of meats, but I imagined this chip to essentially be a variation of the Argentine chips I just journeyed back from.

Popping my nose into this beautifully calming green bag, my nostrils were instantly sucked in by the beautifully buttery smell it was inhaling. There were hints of garlic, but its notes of butter would not be denied. The chips had no real personality to them. There's no seasoning flakes, or coloration to mar the surface. They just looked like plain old Lay's potato chips.

A simple lick of this chip and the butter attacked my senses full force, and I immediately started to crunch on them. A full bite was filled with a creamy butter taste, but the garlic bona fides started to creep in, and earn their titular keep. The more I attacked these chips, the further I fell in love. As I carried on, a third taste joined the party — a low-key lemon zest — which ended up being the perfect finishing touch to this memorable chip.

Lay's sells a French onion dip, but oddly has not sold a chip that tastes like the ubiquitous soup. Personally, I'm a big fan of the boggy soup, filled with caramelized onions, mushy bread, and topped with stringy cheese. Just thinking about this soup is giving me happy thoughts of indigestion, and gas. It goes without saying, I had high hopes for these Wavy chips.

I took an initial whiff of these chips hanging out in the bag, and nothing all that discernible to my nose was revealed. I poured them on a plate, and I couldn't even tell what color they were. Was that a hint of red, or was it pale brown, looking like a russet chip that didn't spend enough time tanning. I don't know, you may have to tell me.

My lick test didn't help my detection of the flavor profile, but they did emit a dash of pungency. When I took a bite, the first thing that sprung to mind is that they were definitely able to capture that French onion soup flavor. Whatever it was, was completely fine, it just didn't hit the intended mark. It was like an all-dressed chip that was wearing only half of its flavor clothes. What was missing here was the creamy and rich cheese that's the main attraction for the soup itself — Gruyère. Maybe this chip can borrow some of that buttery goodness from the Lay's Brazilian‑Style Garlic Sauce chip bag?

Lay's has been pouring on the flavor drops these past few years, with many ideas nicked from abroad. One of the best ones I had encountered, and am still thinking about today are the amazing Korean-inspired Honey Butter ones. As soon as my nose smelled the new Lay's Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce chips, I felt like I was having a most welcome case of déjà vu. If you never got the chance before to hit those Honey Butter ones, you can get a crack at them again, but with garlic and a touch of lemon here for a new twist on the buttery yum. These are MVP chips that will score a goal with any mouth. Find a bag yesterday!

Lay's Argentinian‑Style Steak with Chimichurri flavor is also another stellar bag in this limited time collection. Again, it's better that the beef flavors were minimized here, letting the chimichurri do all the tasty legwork. I actually wish Chipotle was still offering its great take on chimichurri, as I would have loved to pour some all over these Lay's chips for a blessed mess.

French onion soup is a top tier soup, but apparently it's not so easy a flavor to translate into a chip. These are totally edible, but you won't miss much if you skip them altogether. Is there a way we can send these off the pitch, and trade them for one of the other Lay's World Cup Globally Inspired Flavors being sold in other countries? I'll take one bag of Canadian Maple Caramel, and one of Portuguese Chorizo and Onion please. Feel free to throw in a bag of English Bangers and Mash for good measure.

Starting in May, Lay's is releasing these three special flavors in the United States in advance of the World Cup. They will be available for purchase, for a limited time only, and while supplies last at nationwide retailers, both in store and online. They will also be available for purchase through TikTok.

The chips are available in two sizes — 2.5 and 7.75 ounce bags (although the Wavy French Onion Soup ones clock in at 7.5 ounces). In the smaller bags, The Argentinian‑Style Steak with Chimichurri and Lay's Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce contain about 37 chips, while the Lay's Wavy French Onion Soup one has around 32. Based on the date imprinted on the bags, these chips should stay nice and edible for about three months. Availability and price may vary per retailer, but prices for the 2.5 ounce bags range from $1.88 to $2.38, and the 7.75 ounce bags from around $3.49.

Lay's Argentinian‑Style Steak with Chimichurri chips unite the ingredients of potatoes, vegetable oil, corn maltodextrin, salt, spices, dried garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, yeast extract, onion powder, natural flavors, brown sugar, beef fat, corn syrup solids, fruit juice for color, molasses, citric acid, milk protein concentrate, beef extract, and skim milk. A single serving is approximately 13 chips, which results in 160 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, 2 grams of protein, 20 milligrams of calcium, 0.6 milligrams of iron, and 400 milligrams of potassium.

Lay's Brazilian-Style Garlic Sauce chips are made up of potatoes, vegetable oil, salt, garlic powder, natural flavors, buttermilk, skim milk, sugar, cream, dextrose, yeast extract, butter, whey, potassium salt, onion powder, cheddar cheese, and Swiss cheese. It contains the allergen milk. A single serving, which is the equivalent of 15 chips, nets an eater 150 calories, 10 grams or total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 140 milligrams or sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, 2 grams of protein, 20 milligrams of calcium, 0.6 milligrams of iron, and 420 milligrams of potassium.

Lay's Wavy French Onion Soup chips stir together the talents of potatoes, vegetable oil, salt, corn maltodextrin, onion powder, cheddar cheese, brown sugar, spices, whey, potassium salt, fruit juice for color, corn syrup solids, sugar, natural flavors, yeast extract, garlic powder, beef fat, citric acid, and paprika extract. They contain milk ingredients. A single serving is about 13 chips and that provides a snacker with 160 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, 2 grams of protein, 20 milligrams of calcium, 0.6 milligrams of iron, and 400 milligrams of potassium.