Maradona Hand of God
On 22 June 1986, in the quarter-final of the World Cup in Mexico City, Argentina's Diego Maradona scored two goals against England within a few minutes of each other. The first, punched into the net with his hand, became known as the "Hand of God." The second, a solo run from his own half, is widely voted the greatest goal in World Cup history. Together they made the match one of the most discussed in football, and a defining moment in Maradona's legend.
The game was played in the shadow of recent politics. Four years earlier, Britain and Argentina had fought the Falklands War, which Argentina lost, and many Argentines felt the match offered a chance at symbolic redress. Players on both sides later downplayed any such feeling in the dressing rooms, but the tension surrounding the fixture was real. Maradona, then 25 and playing for Napoli in Italy, was already regarded as the best player in the world and was the creative heart of an Argentine team that was otherwise considered fairly ordinary.
The match was goalless at halftime. Shortly after the break, a mis-hit clearance by an English defender looped toward the penalty area. Maradona, much shorter than the England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, rose beside him and guided the ball in with his fist. The Tunisian referee, Ali Bin Nasser, and his linesman did not see the offence, and the goal stood. Only a few minutes later, Maradona collected the ball in his own half and ran about sixty yards, beating several England players before finishing past Shilton. England pulled one goal back late in the game through Gary Lineker but lost 2-1.
Afterward, Maradona said the first goal had been scored "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God," a line that stuck, though he later admitted openly that he had used his hand. For many in England it remained a lasting grievance, while in Argentina it was often celebrated as cunning. Argentina went on to beat Belgium in the semi-final and West Germany in the final, giving Maradona his only World Cup title as captain.
The match is remembered partly because it holds both sides of Maradona in a single afternoon: brilliance and rule-breaking. The incident also fed arguments about refereeing errors that eventually helped lead to the introduction of video assistant referees, which football adopted at the 2018 World Cup. The second goal, meanwhile, is still replayed as a benchmark of individual skill. After Maradona's death in 2020, both goals featured prominently in tributes to him.