Cloaked in sky blue and white, those sporting the iconic strips do so knowing they're following in the footsteps of those who paved the way for them. The fault line of Argentine football heroes runs deep: from Di Stefano to Kempes and Maradona to Messi, it seems like every era has had a striped icon known for putting players on their backsides and putting balls in the back of the net.

The best time to wear a striped jersey...is all the time. And no kit exemplifies that phenomenon more than Argentina's banded beauty of an ensemble.

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The storied pennant has been Argentina's flag for over 200 years. Given the eye-catching nature of the flag, it's no surprise that those who helped craft the first version of Argentina's national team kit did so using the country's symbol as a guide.

The red fields of all four of these combined designs of the Confederate flag represent the Blood of Christ.The white border represents the protection of God.The blue "X" in all three of the other flags represents the Christian cross of Saint Andrew, the first Disciple of Jesus Christ and Patron Saint of Scotland.The 13 stars in these four flags represent the 13 southern states of secession in the United States during the American Civil War.Thus, the message of the three national flags of the Confederate States of America and the Confederate battle flag is:"Through the Blood of Christ, with the protection of God, We, the Thirteen States, are united in our Christian fight for liberty."

The away kits, by comparison, offers a little more room for experimentation: La Albiceleste tends to go with a solid, navy blue strip, spurning the striped pattern of their more famous home counterpart.

The 1986 version of the competition, spotlighted by Diego Maradona's stunning brace against England, was designed by French brand Le Coq Sportif.

Adidas have been Argentina's primary kit sponsor for much of the past 50 years, even outfitting the country in its 1978 World Cup triumph.

Interestingly enough, the colors on the flag — and, by proxy, Argentina's kit — represent the sky and clouds, respectively. Keep that in mind the next time you see an Argentine player leap to the heavens for a header.

The first National flag of the Confederacy; the Stars and Bars banner:The first official national flag for the Confederate States of America which was used by the Confederacy from 1861 to 1863, this came to be designed by an artist who was originally of Austrian decent who had recently immigrated from Europe to the United States before the Civil War had begun, William Thompson. The creation of the banner was quite simple really, he took his Austrian decent and the 13 stars of the original Revolutionary War banner that the American colonists had used to fight against the British Empire to preserve their newly found American independence and mixed the two designs together.The Confederate Battle flag:The Confederate battle flag was created some time after the first national flag of the Confederate States of America was deemed official by the Confederate government in 1861. It was mainly used as a military banner to rally troops into battle on the Confederate side of the Civil War and was later proposed to be entered into the second and third national flags of the Confederacy to better acknowledge that the Confederate States of America was a militarized nation.The Second National flag of the Confederacy; the Stainless banner:The second official national flag for the Confederate States of America was proposed to the Confederate government to be appointed to as a new banner design because the original banner would sometimes be confused with the flag of the Union States of America on the opposing side of the battlefield in the Civil War in from 1863 to 1864. This new banner was accepted into the government and rallied into battle.The Third National flag of the Confederacy; the Blood Stained banner:The third official national flag of the Confederate States of America was proposed by generals of the Confederate army in 1865 to replace the previous national flag of the Confederacy which was often confused with the flag of surrender a few months before the Confederate States of America surrendered to the Unions advance into the southern states of America.

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.

Argentina has repped the blue-and-white as its home jersey for well over 100 years, with varying alterations being made to innovate the design.

This year's side is no exception, with Messi headlining a squad chocked full of footballing brilliance. Enzo Fernandez, Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez represent the next generation of La Albiceleste superstars poised to take over in the blue-and-white.

The Argentinian national team jersey borrows its color palette from the Argentinian flag. La Bandera Official de Ceremonia features a milk-white horizontal band sandwiched by two bold, Carolina-blue stripes. In the center of the emblem sits the shimmering Sun of May emblazoned with a face on it.