World Cup 2026: Argentina to wear away kit and England all-white in semi

England's Jude Bellingham has scored six goals at the 2026 World Cup, while Argentina's Lionel Messi has scored eight

Holders Argentina will wear their navy blue away kit to face England in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Atlanta on Wednesday.

England will be in their all-white home kit for the game at the Atlanta Stadium (20:00 BST), which will be shown live on the BBC.

They have only worn the darker kit once during the tournament, in their 3-1 win against Jordan in the group stage.

While the move could be because of kit regulations, it has also been suggested by media in Argentina that it is linked to superstition - with the kit associated with iconic World Cup wins over England in 1986 and 1998.

They defeated the Three Lions 2-1 in the 1986 quarter-finals, in which Diego Maradona scored the 'Hand of God' goal, and also secured a last-16 penalty shootout victory over their old rivals at the 1998 tournament in France.

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The home and away kits were reversed in 2002 for their group-stage match in Japan, with England claiming a 1-0 victory in red while Argentina wore their traditional striped kit.

Fifa's preference is for each team to wear its first-choice colours, but if there is a potential clash it will follow steps to ensure an acceptable colour contrast is found.

Football's world governing body also tries to make sure there is a dark-kit and light-kit colour contrast, in the interests of fans with colour vision deficiency (colour blindness).

England booked their place in the semi-finals with a 2-1 extra-time victory against Norway on Saturday, while Argentina claimed a dramatic 3-1 win over 10-man Switzerland, also in extra time, on Sunday.

Argentina wore their away kit when Maradona scored his infamous opening goal against England at the 1986 World Cup - dubbed the 'Hand of God'

Maradona then scored a sublime second during Argentina's 2-1 win in the quarter-finals

England wore white again in a penalty shootout loss to Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, where David Beckham was sent off for kicking out at midfielder Diego Simeone

Beckham gained redemption four years later when he scored a penalty in a 1-0 group-stage win over Argentina, with England wearing their red away kit

How Maradona dominated England in 1986

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