Thomas Tuchel reacts as FIFA approve Argentina's superstitious request for semi-final
England's manager Thomas Tuchel thinks Argentina’s superstitious request for this evening’s semi-final is totally fine.
FIFA has approved the reigning World Cup champion's request to wear their navy blue match attire instead of their iconic white and blue stripes.
According to reports, the reasons are believed to centre around symbolic significance and superstition.
Argentina famously wore the darker blue shirt when Diego Maradona scored the greatest World Cup goal in history - along with the ‘Hand of God’ moment - during their 2-1 quarter-final win in 1986.
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They also had an all-blue kit on 12 years later when David Beckham was sent off due to an off-the-ball incident with Diego Simeone. The score was tied at 2-2 as Argentina went on to win during penalties.
When asked about the kit-change ahead of tonight’s match, Tuchel said: “You talk to the one person who was not aware until tomorrow’s warm-up of what colour we play in.
“Argentina plays in blue? And we play in white? And that is because Argentina is superstitious or it is a lucky shirt? They chose this?
“I would have done the same. If there was any superstition combined with it, I would have done the same.”
The German head coach continued: “Credit to them, I was not aware of that. I have my superstitious routines. I will not tell you [what they are] because another superstition is that if I tell you, it will not work so I can’t.
“But of course we have routines that keep you grounded and calm through the day. These things are just normal in high-level sport.”
And so Argentina will wear navy blue shirts, white shorts and red socks, while England will line up in their traditional white kit.
England’s last five results against Argentina at World Cups
- England 1-0 Argentina (2002)
- Argentina 2-2 England (PSO 4-3) (1998)
- Argentina 2-1 England (1986)
- England 1-0 Argentina (1966)
- England 3-1 Argentina (1962)
Tuchel went on to say that ‘the two shirts are just iconic’ and ‘the historic matches are iconic’.
“There are iconic moments, but everyone recognises this shirt straight away, everyone recognises the players straightaway," he added. “So, it is the absolute beauty in the magnitude of a match, in the magnitude of an occasion.”
'The pressure is on them'
Although we're all feeling the nerves ahead of tonight's game, England defender Marc Guehi insists that there is more pressure on Argentina.
“What’s the pressure? The onus is on them. They’re the World Champions,” he said.
“They need to come out, they need to defend their title. There’s no pressure on us at all.
“Everyone is excited, to be honest. The occasion, big players, everyone’s relishing the opportunity against them and looking forward to it. I was once and still am a fan of England, so I understand and know how people must be feeling back home.
“For us, we just have to stay focused and do our best. I know everyone is supporting us and giving us their best wishes.”
England and Argentina's complex rivalry explained
Ahead of tonight's game, many have been wondering why exactly England and Argentina seem to hate each other so much.
Well, it goes far beyond the football pitch.
Following their round-of-16 win over Egypt on 7 July, the Argentina players sang: "For the Malvinas, for Diego, for Leo's last one."
Of course, Diego is in reference to Diego Maradona, the late Argentine footballer who captained his country's team to victory in the 1986 World Cup. While Leo is in reference to Lionel Messi, who also captained Argentina when they won the World Cup in 2022 and is believed to be playing his final tournament.
And Malvinas? It's Spanish for Falklands.
The Falklands Islands lies around 300 miles off the east coast of Argentina, but despite its close proximity to the South American country, Britain claimed the group of islands in 1690, before the United Kingdom established it as British territory in 1833.
The Falklands War began in 1982 when Argentina invaded the land it believed it should have control over.
This went on for 74 days and claimed the lives of 907 people: 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 from Britain and three Falkland Islanders.
Over four decades on from the war, tensions remain high between Argentines and Brits, with Argentina's vice-president describing England as 'invaders' and usurping pirates' ahead of the teams semi-final clash, per ESPN.
BBC Sport has also reported that security measures will be increased for the game - though Argentine journalist Nicolas Rotnitzsky told the outlet that 'it's not about hate'.
"It's not about hate, not at all," Rotnitzsky said. "It's important, getting our identity around what happened with the Malvinas. It's about who we are."
Anish Vij