Meaning behind Joe Hart's tattoo explained as he appears on World Cup coverage

England take on Argentina in a nerve-shredding World Cup semi-final tonight and Joe Hart is on punditry duty.

It's all come down to this, as two of football's biggest rivals meet in the World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, with a place in the prestigious final at stake.

Thomas Tuchel has been brave with his team selection, picking Morgan Rogers, Djed Spence and Reece James in his starting XI.

A few thousands England fans are inside the Mercedes-Benz stadiums, millions will be watching the game at home.

Those tuning into watch the match on BBC have been greeted by pundits Mark Chapman, Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards and Joe Hart - the latter of which is known for his striking tattoos.

For the first time in the tournament, the former England goalkeeper has got his a series of solid black bands tattooed down his right arm on full display and here's what they mean.

Joe Hart explains his tattoos

Hart shared a series of detailed images of his 'armour' tattoos on Instagram in 2019.

Thanking his tattoo artist Hanu Mantra, he said: "You are the man @hanumantra thank you, this is the only time of year I could take this on so I appreciate you fitting me in and smashing it!!

"I got my armour on now... let's see what's next.

"Not everyone's taste I understand that but this definitely represents me and thank you for making it happen."

England and Argentina's complex rivalry explained

As the two nations prepare to fight for their place in the 2026 World Cup final in Atlanta, 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."