On June 22, 1986, at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Diego Maradona — the greatest footballer of his generation — scored two goals that will be remembered as long as football is played. They represented the two sides of the man, the two sides of genius, the two sides of Argentina itself. The first was the "Hand of God": Maradona, all 165 centimeters of him, jumped with the towering England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and punched the ball into the net with his left fist. The referee missed it. The goal stood. "Un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios," he said afterward — "A little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God." The second goal, just four minutes later, was the "Goal of the Century": Maradona received the ball in his own half, spun past two England players, and dribbled 60 meters past five more defenders before rounding the goalkeeper and scoring. It was perfection. These two goals — occurring within four minutes — encapsulated the beautiful and the ugly, the sublime and the scandalous, the divine and the human. And they were scored against England — the old colonial master, the nation Argentina had fought in the Falklands War just four years earlier. This was not just a football match. This was revenge.
Summary: On June 22, 1986, Argentina defeated England 2-1 in the World Cup quarterfinal at the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City. Diego Maradona scored both goals. The first (51st minute) — the "Hand of God" — was scored illegally with his left hand, but the referee allowed it. The second (55th minute) — the "Goal of the Century" — was a solo run from his own half, dribbling past five England players and goalkeeper Peter Shilton. England's Gary Lineker scored a consolation goal (81st minute). Argentina went on to win the World Cup, defeating West Germany 3-2 in the final. Maradona won the Golden Ball as tournament MVP. The match was played against the backdrop of the Falklands War (1982) between Argentina and the United Kingdom, which gave the encounter extra political and emotional significance.
🇦🇷⚔️🇬🇧 The Falklands Shadow: Football as War
The Falklands War of 1982 was a fresh wound. Argentina had invaded the British-held Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas), and Britain had responded with military force, sinking the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano with the loss of 323 lives. Argentina had been humiliated. For many Argentines, the football match on June 22, 1986, was not just a game — it was a symbolic rematch, a chance to restore national honor. Maradona understood this. He had grown up in Villa Fiorito, a Buenos Aires shantytown, and he carried the weight of his nation on his small shoulders. The atmosphere in the Azteca was electric. Mexico was neutral ground, but the Mexican crowd — fiercely anti-English after England's defeat of Mexico in the group stage — was solidly behind Argentina. Maradona later said: "It was as if we were playing a football match for something more important than football. We were playing for our country, for our pride, for our dead."
🖐️ The Hand of God (51st Minute)
The first half was scoreless. Then, in the 51st minute, Maradona played a pass to Jorge Valdano, who stumbled. The ball bounced toward the England goal. Maradona chased it. England's Steve Hodge attempted a desperate clearance but mis-hit it, sending the ball looping toward his own goal. Maradona — far shorter than the 196-centimeter goalkeeper Peter Shilton — leapt for the ball. Shilton's fist reached it. Maradona's fist reached it first. The ball bounced into the net. Maradona wheeled away, glancing at the referee. "Gooooool!" shouted the Argentine commentator Victor Hugo Morales. The England players protested furiously. Shilton gestured madly at the referee. The referee, Ali Bin Nasser of Tunisia, looked to his linesman — who saw nothing. The goal stood. After the match, Maradona delivered his immortal line: "Un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios." The Hand of God was born.
"A little with the head of Maradona, and a little with the hand of God."
🌟 The Goal of the Century (55th Minute)
Four minutes later, Maradona erased all doubt. He received the ball inside his own half, surrounded by English players. With a single spinning turn — "the Culebrita" — he escaped two defenders. Then he sprinted down the right touchline, ball glued to his feet, past Peter Beardsley, past Peter Reid, cutting inside past Terry Butcher, slipping between Terry Fenwick and the goalkeeper Peter Shilton — and rolling the ball into the net. He had dribbled 60 meters, past five England players, and scored. "Cosmic kite, what planet did you come from?" screamed Victor Hugo Morales in the commentary that is still played in Argentina every time this goal is shown. In 2002, FIFA officially recognized it as the "Goal of the Century." No goal before or since has combined such individual brilliance with such high stakes. It was the perfect riposte: the cheat and the beauty, the shame and the glory. Four minutes encapsulated the duality of Diego Maradona.
🏆 The Aftermath: World Champions
Gary Lineker scored a late goal for England, but Argentina held on. Maradona lifted the World Cup trophy a week later after defeating West Germany 3-2 in the final, where he delivered the winning assist to Jorge Burruchaga. The 1986 World Cup was Maradona's tournament — like no player had owned a tournament before. He scored 5 goals and provided 5 assists. His performance was so dominant that the tournament is simply called "Maradona's World Cup." For Argentina, the victory was catharsis — a redemption for the Falklands, a proof that their nation could achieve greatness. For England, the Hand of God remains an open scar. "I will never forgive him," Peter Shilton said decades later. But even Shilton admits the second goal was extraordinary. The two goals — one cheating, one sublime — define Maradona. They define football. They define Argentina.
The Two Faces of Genius
"Maradona's two goals against England are the most analyzed four minutes in football history. They encapsulate everything about the man — the brilliance and the trickery, the divine and the human, the beauty and the deceit. The Hand of God is a sin that Argentina celebrates as a stroke of genius. The Goal of the Century is a miracle that England respects even in defeat. Maradona never apologized. 'It was the hand of God,' he said with a wink. And the world — some of it — laughed with him. Maradona died in 2020 at the age of 60, mourned by millions. The Hand of God remains his signature — unrepentant, unforgettable, unrepeatable."
🤔 Frequently Asked Questions
1) Did Maradona ever admit to the handball? Yes — but not immediately. He famously called it "the hand of God." In 2005, he admitted on his talk show: "It was my hand."
2) Why didn't the referee see the handball? The referee Ali Bin Nasser said his view was obstructed. The linesman also failed to spot it. VAR would certainly have disallowed it.
3) Was the Goal of the Century really the best ever? In 2002, FIFA conducted an online poll. Maradona's goal received the most votes and was declared the Goal of the Century.
4) What did England think of the Hand of God? Outrage. Peter Shilton has never forgiven Maradona. The match remains one of the most controversial in football history.