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Published : 14 Jul 2026, 11:38 AM
World champions Argentina will take the field in their navy blue away kit when they face England in the World Cup semifinal in Atlanta, the BBC reports.
England will wear their all-white home strip for the Wednesday clash at Atlanta Stadium, kicking off at 8pm BST (2am Thursday Bangladesh time) in a match the British broadcaster will show live.
The Three Lions have worn their darker kit just once all tournament, in a 3-1 win over Jordan in the group stage.
While kit regulations could explain Argentina's choice, the BBC noted that Argentine media have floated a more superstitious theory, pointing to the navy strip's association with two iconic World Cup wins over England.
Argentina beat the Three Lions 2-1 in the 1986 quarter-finals, a match remembered for Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal, and knocked England out via penalties in the last 16 at France 1998.
The two sides swapped their usual colours in 2002, when England beat Argentina 1-0 in red at the group stage in Japan, while Argentina turned out in their traditional stripes.
FIFA's preference is for teams to wear their first-choice colours, the BBC said, but where a clash looks likely, football's governing body works through a process to settle on an acceptable contrast.
FIFA also aims to ensure one side wears dark and the other light, a measure designed to help fans with colour vision deficiency follow the action.
Both sides arrive in the last four on the back of gruelling extra-time wins.
England edged past Norway 2-1 after extra time on Saturday, while Argentina battled past 10-man Switzerland 3-1, also requiring extra time, on Sunday.
