Argentina rugby team brutally mock England football team after World Cup exit
Argentina rubbed more salt in England wounds by wearing kits inspired by Diego Maradona's 1986 team in a rugby match.
Following the heartbreaking 2-1 World Cup semi-final defeat on July 15, England got an instant chance to exact some sporting revenge on Argentina as the fierce rivals competed in a Nations Championship match three days later on Saturday.
Yet, before the match even got underway, Argentina moved to mock England in the wake of their football triumph.
The match took place on Argentine soil in the city of Santiago del Estero at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, but the home team did not wear their home colours.
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Instead of the traditional light blue and white stripes, the hosts wore a dark blue striped jersey made by Le Coq Sportif with black shorts and white socks.
That's the exact same kit the Argentina football team wore when they eliminated England from the 1986 World Cup.
The detail even went as far as including the same shiny silver numbers on the back of the shirts and on the shorts.
Diego Maradona was wearing the shirt for his infamous Hand of God goal and his majestic solo strike shortly afterwards that knocked England out at the Azteca.
Lionel Messi's side requested to wear navy for the semi-final, meaning they have now eliminated England from three World Cups while wearing their away colours.
The England vs Argentina rivalry continues
If the ploy was meant to knock the Red Roses of their game, it didn't work as England won a thrilling match while down to 13 men, 31-24.
It didn't take long for England supporters watching the game to notice the significance of Argentina's kit change, with fans loving that England managed to defeat them on their own turf as they wore them.
"England beating Argentina in the Rugby is delicious. They think they are being smart by wearing the 1986 football World Cup kit!" one account wrote on X.
Another wrote: "Wearing the 1986 replica kit against England in the rugby to gloat and losing loooool."
Though others could admire the tenacity of the jibe.
"Some quality trolling," one person posted, while another rated it as: "11/10 s***housery."
England got the last laugh with their victory, though, with some eagle-eyed supporters even spotting prop Ellis Genge appearing to copy Enzo Fernandez' goal celebration after his teammates forced a scrum into a try.
It's just the latest development in the rekindled rivalry between the two countries after they played each other in a competitive football match for the first time in 24 years.
Argentina players sparked controversy after their win by unfurling a banner claiming the Falkland Islands belonged to the country.
The Falklands are a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic which Argentina invaded in 1982. British forces defeated them in 74 days but 907 people died in the conflict.
Political messaging from players is against FIFA regulations and Liberal Democratic leader Ed Davey has called for the players holding the banner to be suspended for the final, citing precedent of players being banned for similar incidents in the past.
Outgoing prime minster Keir Starmer also called for an investigation, with FIFA 'currently assessing' the incident.
A FIFA spokesperson said: "As is standard procedure, FIFA’s independent Disciplinary Committee is currently assessing the match reports and considering the relevant circumstances before deciding on potential further steps based on the FIFA Disciplinary Code."
That disciplinary code prohibits ‘banners, flags, flyers, apparel and other paraphernalia that are of a political, offensive, and/or discriminatory nature’ inside stadiums.
However, White House FIFA task force, Andrew Giuilani, has backed Argentina's ability to display the banner under freedom of speech laws in the USA.
"We believe in our First Amendment rights here in the United States of America," he told the media in Washington on Friday, July 17.
"And in terms of the ability, the opportunity to be able to make statements, (Argentina) has the ability to do that in the United States of America."
A decision from FIFA's Disciplinary Committee, and any punishment they may impose, is not expected until after the tournament.
Argentina face Spain in the final at 8pm BST in the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey, which is set to go ahead despite concerns over air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.
Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions earned a small measure of redemption by earning a bronze-placed finish in a bonkers 6-4 win over France in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
Bukayo Saka claimed a hat-trick while Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa were all on the scoresheet.
Daniel Murphy