England World Cup semi-final kit confirmed after 'special' Argentina request

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13 July 2026

The

Three Lions

will use their home shirt on Wednesday, but

Argentina

want to play in away top

England

are set to play in their all-white kit against

, who will wear their blue away jersey after reportedly requesting to do so.

As the designated ‘home’ team, the

will wear their home shirt.

Thomas Tuchel’s side have worn their home shirt in all of their matches at the 2026

World Cup

so far, bar their final group game against Panama.

Argentina, similarly, have worn their traditional light blue and white striped home shirt in all games, bar their 3-1 group stage win over Jordan.

Solitary use:

used their away shirt just once so far, against Panama

The world champions might have been expected to continue in that home shirt, it has been confirmed that

will don their dark-blue kit.

According to Argentine journalist Gaston Edu,

requested the kit change. This remains unconfirmed by both

FIFA

and the

FA.

The darker kit will mirror wins over

in the past.

Feeling blue: Messi in Argentina’s current away kit against Jordan

Getty

Diego Maradona, wearing a dark blue top and black shorts, scored his famous ‘Hand of God’ goal to open the scoring against

in the 1986

quarter-final. Five minutes later, he dribbled past five players to score one of the most iconic goals of all time.

Argentina won 2-1 that day, eliminating the

. They did so again 12 years later, beating

on penalties in the last 16 at the 1998

. They also wore their blue away kit that day as David Beckham was sent off for a kick at Diego Simeone. Giuliano - Simeone’s son - is in Argentina’s 2026 squad.

Their most recent competitive meeting was at the 2002

when the

beat

1-0 in the group stage, when

played in their red shirt and

their striped home.

The two rivals last played each other in an international friendly in Switzerland in 2005.

emerged victorious thanks to a Michael Owen double in a 3-2 win.

wore their away kit that day.

Hand of God: Maradona’s controversial goal in 1986 against England

Bongarts/Getty Images

Lionel Messi

did not feature in that game despite making his international debut three months earlier against Bosnia & Herzegovina. A red card on his debut saw him suspended for the

clash.

This means Wednesday evening’s game in Atlanta

will be Messi’s first-ever appearance against England

, as he looks to extend his lead (21) over Kylian Mbappe (20) in the all-time

goalscoring charts and move clear of the France forward at the 2026 edition. Both sit on eight goals.

The winner of

against

will face the victors of France and Spain in the other semi-final. That takes place at 8pm BST on Tuesday, June 14, at Dallas Stadium.

final is at 8pm BST on Sunday, June 19, at New York/ New Jersey Stadium.

England f***ed by the World Cup schedule even if they beat Messi’s Argentina…

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