1986 Hand of God – Argentina vs England

Lore & Background

The match was held four years after the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom, and was a key part of the intense Argentina–England football rivalry. Maradona later said the Hand of God goal felt like 'some sort of symbolic revenge against the English.' Before the match, fans from both countries brawled in Mexico City streets and into the stadium, resulting in several English fans being hospitalised and some of their flags stolen by Argentine barra bravas.

In Their Own Story

The Estadio Azteca hummed with 100,000 voices, a single ocean of blue and white. Maradona stood in the box, eyes tracking the cross arcing from the left. The ball hung in the humid Mexico City air, and for a half-second his hand rose—not his head, his hand—punching the leather just past Shilton's fingertips. The keeper's face crumpled. The referee's whistle cut through the roar. Maradona raised both arms, a small man in a white-and-blue striped shirt, and the stadium detonated. Four minutes later, he was gone again, a streak of white threading through the English back line, and when he slotted the ball into the corner, the same ocean roared a different kind of roar—one of awe, of surrender, of a nation watching its god perform the impossible. Peter Shilton sat on the grass, hands on his knees, and the two goals—sin and sacrament—hung in the air between them like a question no one would ever answer.

Reader's Guide

Argentina beat Uruguay 1–0 in the round of 16 wearing blue cotton shirts. Coach Carlos Bilardo wanted lighter shirts for the quarter-final. With three days to go, staff member Ruben Moschella bought 38 blue shirts from a shop in Mexico City after Maradona said, 'That’s a nice jersey. We’ll beat England in that.' Makeshift AFA badges were sewn on, and silver American football shirt numbers were ironed on the backs.

Did You Know?

• Maradona was 8 inches shorter than England goalkeeper Peter Shilton but reached the ball first with his left hand for the Hand of God goal.
• The Goal of the Century was voted 'Goal of the Century' in a 2002 FIFA website poll, beating Michael Owen's 1998 goal against Argentina.
• Gary Lineker, who scored England's goal, won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer with six goals.
• Maradona won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.