A whirlwind of excitement has hit Derby as local hero Sid Kumar puts his weight behind the Three Lions ahead of their crunch World Cup semi-final showdown against Argentina. This pint-sized Maradona lookalike, who's become an unlikely sensation with his uncanny resemblance to the Argentine legend, is backing England all the way.
Kumar's meteoric rise to fame began when he let his hair grow long and curly during lockdown – and boy, did it pay off! At the 2022 Finalissima match between Argentina and Italy at Wembley, the Derby lad was mobbed by Argentine fans who thought they'd spotted the great Diego himself. Decked out in an Argentina shirt, Kumar revelled in the attention, even signing with a lookalike agency to cash in on his doppelganger status.
But despite embracing his Maradona persona, Kumar's true colours remain clear: he's a dyed-in-the-wool England fan through and through. And he's not afraid to poke fun at the potential consequences if England were to come up short – joking that he'd duck the Argentina shirt for a week or two to avoid being 'mugged'.
With the semi-final just around the corner, Kumar is predicting a tense encounter between Thomas Tuchel's England squad and Lionel Scaloni's Argentina. He's hopeful of an outright victory within 90 minutes but concedes that a draw leading to penalties is on the cards – and he's optimistic about England's chances of 'sneaking it' through to the World Cup final.