“Navy blue”… “Maradona shirt” sparks widespread reactions in England before facing Argentina

The Argentine Football Association has submitted an official request to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to allow the national team to wear its “dark blue” away shirt, instead of the traditional “white and cyan” main shirt, in the upcoming match against England for the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup.

This strange request is due to Argentina’s desire to be optimistic and recall important historical memories, as Argentina never loses to England when it wears the blue reserve shirt.

The official Argentine request from FIFA sparked widespread reactions and great interest in the British media, as The Sun newspaper saw Argentina’s request as “a deliberate attempt to revive the ghosts of the past and play on the nerves of England’s players,” noting that Argentina is searching for the “historical blessing” of Maradona.

For its part, the Daily Mail newspaper described the request as falling under the category of football superstitions and optimism that Argentines hold sacred, and pointed out that the current generation of England does not care about stories of the past, but rather focuses only on the field.

Sky Sports focused on the organizational aspect, explaining that Argentina’s desire to wear the alternative kit will not affect England’s all-white colors, but it adds an exciting, dramatic character to Wednesday’s summit.

One of the most famous matches that witnessed Argentina’s victory against England in the “blue shirt” was the 1986 World Cup quarter-final match, which witnessed a brace by the legendary Diego Armando Maradona, including his controversial goal that he scored with his own hand.

It is certain that Argentina will play the match in the reserve shirt, as they are the away team in this match, which will mean that they will have to wear the reserve shirt, given that the host team is wearing its main “white” shirt.

It is noteworthy that the last confrontation between the two teams in the World Cup was in the 2002 edition, when England won with a David Beckham goal. Argentina wore the main shirt that day, while the Three Lions played the match in the “red” reserve shirt, but before that in the 1998 World Cup, Argentina won on penalties for the round of 16 while wearing its “blue” reserve shirt.