David Pleat says the Hand of God goal still sits at the center of England’s defeat to Argentina at the 1986 World Cup. Diego Maradona scored that disputed first goal, then added a second minutes later at Azteca Stadium in front of 114,000 people.
Azteca Stadium and England
Pleat was working at the tournament for ITV in Mexico, where England had already played Paraguay before facing Argentina. The match turned on Maradona’s first goal, the one England players protested to Ali Ben Nasser as soon as the ball went in.
Pleat described Maradona raising his arm and the ball striking his hand before settling in the net. England’s reaction came immediately, but the goal stood, and Ben Nasser never refereed another World Cup game. He also took the ball home as a souvenir.
Maradona, Shilton, and the reply
Minutes after the Hand of God goal, Maradona scored again past Peter Shilton. Pleat said that second strike was the best he had seen live, and he linked it with Gareth Bale’s overhead kick for Real Madrid against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final and Son Heung-min’s run against Burnley.
Bobby Robson responded by sending on Chris Waddle and John Barnes, and the move produced England’s reply. A superb cross from Barnes was headed in by Gary Lineker, but the match was already defined by Maradona’s two goals and the controversy around the first.
Pleat's commentary faux pas
The memory Pleat cannot escape is not only the goal itself, but his own broadcast line. He called it his most embarrassing faux pas when he said, “Maradona gets amazing elevation on his balls from the tightest of angles.”
That clash between the disputed finish and the second goal is why the match still lives on in World Cup memory. One moment drew the protest, the next settled the argument on the field, and both remain attached to Maradona’s name whenever England’s defeat in Mexico comes up.
