Argentina have kicked off their FIFA World Cup semifinal psychological mind games by requesting they wear their alternate kit against England - despite already being designated as the away side.
The defending champions are eager to invoke history, as although their track record against the Three Lions is underwhelming - they have prevailed in only three of their 14 encounters - with two of those wins coming while wearing their away kit.
La Albiceleste sported a blue kit when Diego Maradona's Hand of God and dazzling individual strike knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico City. They also donned dark blue when they defeated the Three Lions on penalties in Saint-Étienne following a 2-2 tie in 1998, as per The Mirror.
The other two occasions Argentina have met England at World Cups, they wore their sky blue primary kit and suffered defeat: first in a heated clash in 1966 featuring a strange 10-minute pitch standoff and then in Sapporo in 2002 when David Beckham converted the decisive penalty.
FIFA have now confirmed that England will don white and Argentina will sport their striking dark blue and black alternate jersey in Atlanta.
At this particular World Cup, Argentina have worn their primary jersey in five of their six games, all of which resulted in victories. They have donned their alternate kit just once - the 3-1 victory over Jordan in Dallas.
Meanwhile, England have sported their white primary strip in five of their six games, securing four wins and drawing their second group match against Ghana in Boston.
They also possess a flawless record in their red alternate strip, which they wore for their 2-0 win against Panama in New Jersey in their last Group L game. Remarkably, Argentina were never actually meant to wear the blue kit that they sported against England in 1986.
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Following their win against Uruguay in Puebla during the Round of 16, Carlos Bilardo's players voiced concerns that their jerseys had grown weighty in the sweltering conditions.
They ultimately determined that they couldn't wear them again against England, but Le Coq Sportif was unable to produce an alternative in time for the encounter.
National team delegate Ruben Moschella and an equipment manager ventured into Tepito to find a solution and succeeded, securing two separate sets of Le Coq Sportif jerseys.
Samples were returned to camp, but the squad remained undecided until Maradona intervened and selected the blue ones. Thirty-eight shirts were acquired, but there were still no badges or numbers.
The crests from an old 1978 jersey were torn off and sewn on by hand, while the numbers were hurriedly pressed on individually with an iron as there was no industrial equipment available to help with the task.
The outcome? One of the most legendary shirts in sporting history.
In 2022, former England midfielder Steve Hodge sold the famous No. 10 jersey worn by Maradona for over £7 million ($9.3 million), 36 years after their encounter at Estadio Azteca.
Source: Alloutsoccer.com
