Argentina has requested to wear their dark blue away kit for their upcoming World Cup semi-final match against England, a decision that revives historical parallels with a contentious past encounter. The choice to forgo their traditional pale blue and white striped home shirt for the Wednesday semi-final was confirmed on Tuesday.
This particular dark blue kit is famously associated with Argentina's 1986 World Cup quarter-final victory over England at the Estadio Azteca. During that match, Diego Maradona scored both the infamous 'Hand of God' goal and the strike later celebrated as the 'Goal of the Century,' ultimately leading to England's elimination from the tournament.
The 'Hand of God' incident, where Maradona appeared to punch the ball into the net past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, remains a subject of debate four decades later. Shilton recently shared that he is ready to move past the controversy, stating that he was beaten to the ball and that Maradona would have headed it otherwise. He added that while everyone in the stadium saw the handball except the officials, he has found peace with the incident, partly due to positive experiences during visits to Argentina.
England, meanwhile, is expected to wear their traditional all-white home kit. The team has largely used their home strip throughout the tournament, with the exception of one group-stage match. Concerns have been raised among some supporters regarding the referee appointed for the semi-final, Ismail Elfath, who has been described as Lionel Messi's 'favourite referee' due to his prior officiating of Messi's MLS matches.
Argentina's path to the semi-finals has not been without scrutiny, with prior allegations of favorable refereeing decisions. Following their quarter-final victory over Switzerland, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji claimed that