Mexico 1986: The Hand of God — Maradona's World Cup
One man, one tournament, two of the most famous goals ever scored in the same match. Mexico 1986 belongs entirely to Diego Maradona — and Argentina's second world title was built almost entirely on his genius.
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. Colombia had originally been awarded the tournament, but economic difficulties saw Mexico step in to host the global showpiece for the second time. It proved a fitting stage for one of the greatest individual performances in the history of sport.
The group stage passed without major surprises, though Portugal — semi-finalists at Euro 1984 — were eliminated by Morocco in one of the round's more notable upsets. Hungary endured a torrid campaign, thrashed 6-0 by the USSR before losing to France, their only win coming against minnows Canada before they disappeared from the world stage for years to come.
Brazil, as so often, arrived as one of the favourites. Sócrates, Zico and Careca powered through to the quarter-finals, where they met France in Guadalajara in a match the French press immediately dubbed a classic. Neither side could be separated after 120 minutes, and penalties ended the dreams of Tele Santana's magnificent side for the second consecutive World Cup. France, who had already eliminated Italy in the round of 16, now looked like the team to beat — until West Germany ended their run 2-0 in the semi-finals.
The other semi-final saw Maradona dismantle Belgium with a virtuoso two-goal performance. By that point, the entire world had already been talking about him for days — specifically about what had happened in the quarter-final against England. First, a goal punched in with his fist that he brazenly attributed to "the Hand of God." Then, moments later, a goal of supernatural quality: Maradona collected the ball in his own half and ran through virtually the entire England team before sliding it past the goalkeeper — a goal later voted the greatest in World Cup history. Bobby Robson's side had no answer to either.
The final against West Germany began with Argentina in control, racing into a 2-0 lead. Beckenbauer, now the German coach, had assigned Lothar Matthäus to man-mark Maradona, which kept him quieter than usual — but the damage was already done. West Germany fought back to 2-2, as they so often did, and Beckenbauer urged his players to hold on for extra time. They didn't listen. Maradona found the gap in the stretched German defence and slipped a perfect pass to Jorge Burruchaga, who raced clear and finished to make it 3-2. Argentina were world champions for the second time, and the world lay at Maradona's feet.
Top scorer: Gary Lineker (England) — 6 goals
Champions squad: Pumpido, Batista, Brown, Burruchaga, Cuciuffo, Maradona, Valdano, Enrique, Giusti, Olarticoechea, Ruggeri, Islas, Zelada, Almirón, Bochini, Borghi, Passarella, Clausen, Garré, Pasculi, Tapia, Trobiani
Coach: Carlos Bilardo
Highest-scoring match: Denmark v Uruguay 6-1
Total goals scored: 132 | Average per match: 2.54
Best-attended match: 114,600 — Argentina v West Germany (final) | Average attendance: 46,020