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Argentina v England (1986)
Encyclopedia
Argentina v England, played on 22 June 1986, was a football match between Argentina
and England
in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup
at the Estadio Azteca
in Mexico City. The game was held four years after the Falklands War
between Argentina and the United Kingdom and was a key part in developing the intense football rivalry between the two nations
. It was also a match which included two of the most famous goals in football history, both scored by Diego Maradona
. His first, after fifty-one minutes, was the Hand of God goal, in which Maradona scored with an illegal, but unpenalised, handball. His second, after fifty-four minutes, saw him dribble past six England players, Beardsley, Reid, Butcher, Fenwick, Butcher (again), and finally goalkeeper Peter Shilton. In 2002 this was voted Goal of the Century by FIFA.com voters. Argentina won the game 2–1 and went on to win the 1986 World Cup with a victory over West Germany in the final. Maradona won the golden ball
for player of the tournament whilst England's goalscorer on the day, Gary Lineker
, won the golden shoe
for being the tournament's top scorer.
s have been credited with bringing football to Argentina
in the 19th century.
The rivalry between the England
and Argentina national football team
s, however, is generally traced back to the 1966 FIFA World Cup
. During the quarter-final game at Wembley Stadium, the home of the England national team, Argentine captain Antonio Rattin
was sent off as Argentina lost in a game which contained excessive foul play. Rattin was angered at the sending-off, feeling that the German referee had been biased towards the English, a fellow European nation, in front of their home fans, and stomped over the royal carpet in the stadium. This led England manager Alf Ramsey
to describe the Argentines as "animals", comments that were viewed as racist by the Argentines.
Despite the popularity of Ossie Ardiles and Ricardo Villa
, Argentines who played with Tottenham Hotspur
in England in an era before it was commonplace for clubs to have non-British players, the rivalry remained strong.
Outside football, the Falklands War in 1982 increased the mistrust between England and Argentina. The Falkland Islands
, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean
is a British administrative territory
claimed by Argentina as the Islas Malvinas. In April 1982, Argentinian forces invaded and occupied the island; the British considered this an invasion of its own territory and sent a naval task force
to recapture the Islands, which it did in June 1982. Though the two nations were never officially at war, the conflict resulted in 258 British and 649 Argentine deaths. As a result, the match taking place just four years after the war was filled with emotional charge. Following the game, Maradona stated: "Although we had said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas war, we knew they had killed a lot of Argentine boys there, killed them like little birds. And this was revenge."
, declared themselves unable to host the tournament. England qualified for the finals undefeated, topping Group 3
in the UEFA
zone, whilst Argentina also topped their qualifying group
in CONMEBOL
. In the early stages of the tournament, Argentina had been comfortable, winning two and drawing one in the group stage, whilst England had qualified more narrowly, with a 3–0 win over Poland
in the final match putting them into the round of 16. Both teams won comfortably against South American opposition in that round, Argentina against Uruguay
and England against Paraguay
. Although neither team began the tournaments as favourites, England's form had been improving throughout the World Cup and Argentina were buoyed by the skill of Maradona.
saving a number of good chances, many created by Maradona. Peter Beardsley
had England's best chance after 13 minutes, following a slip from Nery Pumpido
in Argentina's goal, but failed to take it. At half time, the score was 0–0, Argentina having had much more of the possession and territory - and done a great deal more of the running - but having failed to get through England's resolute defence.
Six minutes into the second half, Maradona cut inside from the left and played a diagonal
low pass to the edge of the area to team-mate Jorge Valdano and continued his run in the hope of a one-two movement. Maradona's pass, however, was played slightly behind Valdano and reached England's Steve Hodge
, the left midfielder
who had dropped back to defend.
Hodge tried to hook the ball clear but miscued it. The ball screwed off his foot and into the penalty area, toward Maradona, who had continued his run. England goalkeeper Peter Shilton
came out of his goal to punch the ball clear, with his considerable height at , making him clear favourite to beat Maradona at to it. However, Maradona reached it first, with the outside of his left fist. The ball went into the goal, and the referee (Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser
), not having seen the infringement, allowed the goal.
Maradona later said, "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came... I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.'"
At the post-game press conference, Maradona claimed that the goal was scored "un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios" ("a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God"), coining the phrase "Hand of God". Video and photographic evidence demonstrated that he had struck the ball with his hand, which was shown on television networks and in newspapers all over the world, with England manager Bobby Robson
stating instead that it was 'the hand of a rascal.' The goal helped intensify the footballing rivalry between the two nations: the English now felt that they had been cheated out of a possible World Cup victory, while the Argentinians enjoyed the manner in which they had taken the lead.
Just four minutes after the Hand of God goal, however, came The Goal of the Century, so called because it is often claimed to be the greatest individual goal of all time. Héctor Enrique
passed the ball to Maradona some ten metres inside his own half.
Maradona then began his 60-metre, 10-second dash towards the English goal, passing five English outfield players – Beardsley
, Reid
, Butcher
(twice) and Fenwick
. Maradona finished the move by dribbling round Shilton
to make the score 2–0 to Argentina.
About the goal, Maradona said, "I made the play to give it to Valdano, but when I got to the area they surrounded me and I had no space. Therefore, I had to continue the play and finish it myself." He later complimented the fair play of the English team, saying, "I don't think I could have done it against any other team because they all used to knock you down; they are probably the noblest in the world".
In 2002, the goal was voted 'Goal of the Century' as part of the build up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup
tournament on the FIFA
website
. It beat into second place a goal scored by England's Michael Owen
, against Argentina in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
, whilst another 1986 FIFA World Cup goal by Maradona, from the semi-final match against Belgium, came fourth.
Argentina's lead forced England into a double attacking substitution, bringing on Barnes and Waddle, and it nearly paid off: as the Argentine team began to tire after their earlier efforts, England began to push further up the pitch, looking to get back into the game. Driven by Glenn Hoddle
and John Barnes
, they created chances, and Gary Lineker
scored his sixth goal of the tournament in the 80th minute from a Barnes cross. Argentina, however, had further chances as well, with Carlos Tapia hitting the inside of the post immediately after England's goal. England were unable to score an equaliser - Olarticoechea making a particularly important defensive contribution in the 87th minute when he and Lineker both jumped for the ball from another Barnes cross, the two players collided, both missed the ball by a whisker (but there was no question of it being anything other than a fair challenge on both sides), and it was Lineker himself who ended up in the back of the net instead of the ball. England ran out of time, and Argentina won the match 2–1.
in the 2000s. Maradona also praised the English, noting that they did not knock him down much compared to the teams of other nations who heavily marked and tackled him.
The game added hugely to the rivalry between the two teams in England where many felt that they had been cheated out of the competition by Maradona's hand ball. Meanwhile, in Argentina, the game was seen as revenge for the Falklands War
and for what they still see as the unfair game in the 1966 World Cup
. The former Argentinian international Roberto Perfumo
stated that "'In 1986, winning that game against England was enough. Winning the World Cup was secondary for us. Beating England was our real aim".
Although the first goal proved highly controversial in England, Maradona's second goal was nevertheless recognised all over the world for its brilliance. A notable example of the English appreciation of his genius occurred in a 2002 poll conducted by Channel 4
, where the UK public voted Maradona's performance #6 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. Outside the Estadio Azteca a statue of Maradona scoring the goal was erected to commemorate the moment.
Argentina went on to win the 1986 FIFA World Cup, as well as finishing runners-up in the 1990 FIFA World Cup
. England's Lineker won the golden shoe for being top scorer in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. With a similar squad, England finished fourth in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, their highest finish since 1966.
The two teams have since met twice in World Cup matches. Argentina won a round-of-16 match in the shootout at the 1998 FIFA World Cup
, after one penalty kick
was awarded to each side, David Beckham
was sent off, and Michael Owen
scored his famous goal. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup
the teams met in the group stage, and the match which began at twelve noon UK time, was described as the "longest lunch break in history" as millions in England and throughout the world stopped their jobs and activities to watch the game on TV. England won 1–0 courtesy of Beckham's penalty kick and Argentina later failed to advance to the knockout round.
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ENGLAND:
|
GK
1
Peter Shilton
(c)
DF
2
Gary Stevens
DF
3
Kenny Sansom
DF
14
Terry Fenwick
DF
6
Terry Butcher
MF
4
Glenn Hoddle
MF
16
Peter Reid
MF
17
Trevor Steven
MF
18
Steve Hodge
FW
10
Gary Lineker
FW
20
Peter Beardsley
Substitutions:
FW
11
Chris Waddle
FW
19
John Barnes
Manager:
Bobby Robson
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
and England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had been originally chosen to host the competition by FIFA but, largely due to economic reasons, was not able to do so and officially...
at the Estadio Azteca
Estadio Azteca
Estadio Azteca is a stadium in Santa Ursula, Mexico City, Mexico. It is the official home stadium of the Mexico national football team and the Mexican team Club América.The stadium was the venue for football soccer in the 1968 Summer Olympics....
in Mexico City. The game was held four years after the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
between Argentina and the United Kingdom and was a key part in developing the intense football rivalry between the two nations
Argentina and England football rivalry
The Argentina–England football rivalry is a highly competitive sports rivalry that exists between the national football teams of the two countries, as well as their respective sets of fans...
. It was also a match which included two of the most famous goals in football history, both scored by Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
. His first, after fifty-one minutes, was the Hand of God goal, in which Maradona scored with an illegal, but unpenalised, handball. His second, after fifty-four minutes, saw him dribble past six England players, Beardsley, Reid, Butcher, Fenwick, Butcher (again), and finally goalkeeper Peter Shilton. In 2002 this was voted Goal of the Century by FIFA.com voters. Argentina won the game 2–1 and went on to win the 1986 World Cup with a victory over West Germany in the final. Maradona won the golden ball
FIFA World Cup awards
At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game.These are awards granted during the men's senior tournament...
for player of the tournament whilst England's goalscorer on the day, Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
, won the golden shoe
FIFA World Cup awards
At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game.These are awards granted during the men's senior tournament...
for being the tournament's top scorer.
Background
British expatriateExpatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
s have been credited with bringing football to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
in the 19th century.
The rivalry between the England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
and Argentina national football team
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
s, however, is generally traced back to the 1966 FIFA World Cup
1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...
. During the quarter-final game at Wembley Stadium, the home of the England national team, Argentine captain Antonio Rattin
Antonio Rattín
Antonio Ubaldo Rattín is a former Argentine football player, best known as a Boca Juniors midfielder, and because of an incident in a match at the 1966 FIFA World Cup...
was sent off as Argentina lost in a game which contained excessive foul play. Rattin was angered at the sending-off, feeling that the German referee had been biased towards the English, a fellow European nation, in front of their home fans, and stomped over the royal carpet in the stadium. This led England manager Alf Ramsey
Alf Ramsey
Sir Alfred Ernest "Alf" Ramsey was an English footballer and manager of the English national football team from 1963 to 1974. His greatest achievement was winning the 1966 World Cup with England on 30 July 1966...
to describe the Argentines as "animals", comments that were viewed as racist by the Argentines.
Despite the popularity of Ossie Ardiles and Ricardo Villa
Ricardo Villa
Ricardo Julio "Ricky" Villa is an Argentine football coach and former professional midfielder.-Career:He played successively for Quilmes, Club Atlético Tucumán and Racing Club...
, Argentines who played with Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in England in an era before it was commonplace for clubs to have non-British players, the rivalry remained strong.
Outside football, the Falklands War in 1982 increased the mistrust between England and Argentina. The Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
is a British administrative territory
British overseas territories
The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories of the United Kingdom which, although they do not form part of the United Kingdom itself, fall under its jurisdiction. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not acquired independence or have voted to remain British territories...
claimed by Argentina as the Islas Malvinas. In April 1982, Argentinian forces invaded and occupied the island; the British considered this an invasion of its own territory and sent a naval task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
to recapture the Islands, which it did in June 1982. Though the two nations were never officially at war, the conflict resulted in 258 British and 649 Argentine deaths. As a result, the match taking place just four years after the war was filled with emotional charge. Following the game, Maradona stated: "Although we had said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas war, we knew they had killed a lot of Argentine boys there, killed them like little birds. And this was revenge."
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was held in Mexico after the original hosts, ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, declared themselves unable to host the tournament. England qualified for the finals undefeated, topping Group 3
1986 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification....
in the UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
zone, whilst Argentina also topped their qualifying group
1986 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification....
in CONMEBOL
CONMEBOL
The South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...
. In the early stages of the tournament, Argentina had been comfortable, winning two and drawing one in the group stage, whilst England had qualified more narrowly, with a 3–0 win over Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
in the final match putting them into the round of 16. Both teams won comfortably against South American opposition in that round, Argentina against Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
and England against Paraguay
Paraguay national football team
The Paraguay national football team is controlled by the Paraguayan Football Association and represents Paraguay in men's international football competitions. The team has reached the second round of the World Cup on four occasions . The 2010 trip also featured their first appearance in the...
. Although neither team began the tournaments as favourites, England's form had been improving throughout the World Cup and Argentina were buoyed by the skill of Maradona.
First half
The game started with both teams exchanging chances. Argentina began to dominate, however, with England's goalkeeper Peter ShiltonPeter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
saving a number of good chances, many created by Maradona. Peter Beardsley
Peter Beardsley
Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE is an English former footballer who played between 1979 and 1999. He once set a record transfer fee in the game and represented his country 59 times between 1986 and 1996, once as captain...
had England's best chance after 13 minutes, following a slip from Nery Pumpido
Nery Pumpido
Nery Alberto Pumpido is a football coach and former goalkeeper who played for the Argentine national team in two World Cups. After retirement, Pumpido moved into club management and is currently in his second spell as coach of Paraguayan side Olimpia of Asunción.-Club career:Pumpido began his...
in Argentina's goal, but failed to take it. At half time, the score was 0–0, Argentina having had much more of the possession and territory - and done a great deal more of the running - but having failed to get through England's resolute defence.
Second half
It was the second half of the match that was to see the two incidents for which the game was to become both famous and infamous."Hand of God" goal
Diagonal
A diagonal is a line joining two nonconsecutive vertices of a polygon or polyhedron. Informally, any sloping line is called diagonal. The word "diagonal" derives from the Greek διαγώνιος , from dia- and gonia ; it was used by both Strabo and Euclid to refer to a line connecting two vertices of a...
low pass to the edge of the area to team-mate Jorge Valdano and continued his run in the hope of a one-two movement. Maradona's pass, however, was played slightly behind Valdano and reached England's Steve Hodge
Steve Hodge
Stephen Brian Hodge is a retired English footballer who enjoyed a high-profile club and international career in the 1980s and 1990s.- Playing career :...
, the left midfielder
Midfielder
A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...
who had dropped back to defend.
Hodge tried to hook the ball clear but miscued it. The ball screwed off his foot and into the penalty area, toward Maradona, who had continued his run. England goalkeeper Peter Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
came out of his goal to punch the ball clear, with his considerable height at , making him clear favourite to beat Maradona at to it. However, Maradona reached it first, with the outside of his left fist. The ball went into the goal, and the referee (Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser
Ali Bin Nasser
Ali Bin Nasser is a former Tunisian football referee. His name is spelled as Ali Bennaceur in the official FIFA match reports....
), not having seen the infringement, allowed the goal.
Maradona later said, "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came... I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.'"
At the post-game press conference, Maradona claimed that the goal was scored "un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios" ("a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God"), coining the phrase "Hand of God". Video and photographic evidence demonstrated that he had struck the ball with his hand, which was shown on television networks and in newspapers all over the world, with England manager Bobby Robson
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
stating instead that it was 'the hand of a rascal.' The goal helped intensify the footballing rivalry between the two nations: the English now felt that they had been cheated out of a possible World Cup victory, while the Argentinians enjoyed the manner in which they had taken the lead.
The Goal of the Century
Just four minutes after the Hand of God goal, however, came The Goal of the Century, so called because it is often claimed to be the greatest individual goal of all time. Héctor Enrique
Héctor Enrique
Héctor Adolfo Enrique is a retired Argentine footballer and current assistant coach of the Argentina national team...
passed the ball to Maradona some ten metres inside his own half.
Maradona then began his 60-metre, 10-second dash towards the English goal, passing five English outfield players – Beardsley
Peter Beardsley
Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE is an English former footballer who played between 1979 and 1999. He once set a record transfer fee in the game and represented his country 59 times between 1986 and 1996, once as captain...
, Reid
Peter Reid
Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career...
, Butcher
Terry Butcher
Terence Ian "Terry" Butcher is an English football manager and former player. He was a highly successful football player and made his name as an uncompromising defender with Ipswich Town and Rangers in the 1980s. He was also a captain of England and won 77 caps in a ten-year international career...
(twice) and Fenwick
Terry Fenwick
Terence William 'Terry' Fenwick is an English football coach and former player. He is the current head coach for San Juan Jabloteh of the TT Pro League in Trinidad and Tobago.- Player :...
. Maradona finished the move by dribbling round Shilton
Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
to make the score 2–0 to Argentina.
About the goal, Maradona said, "I made the play to give it to Valdano, but when I got to the area they surrounded me and I had no space. Therefore, I had to continue the play and finish it myself." He later complimented the fair play of the English team, saying, "I don't think I could have done it against any other team because they all used to knock you down; they are probably the noblest in the world".
In 2002, the goal was voted 'Goal of the Century' as part of the build up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
tournament on the FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
. It beat into second place a goal scored by England's Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
, against Argentina in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, whilst another 1986 FIFA World Cup goal by Maradona, from the semi-final match against Belgium, came fourth.
Lineker's goal and Argentine victory
Argentina's lead forced England into a double attacking substitution, bringing on Barnes and Waddle, and it nearly paid off: as the Argentine team began to tire after their earlier efforts, England began to push further up the pitch, looking to get back into the game. Driven by Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
and John Barnes
John Barnes (footballer)
John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...
, they created chances, and Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
scored his sixth goal of the tournament in the 80th minute from a Barnes cross. Argentina, however, had further chances as well, with Carlos Tapia hitting the inside of the post immediately after England's goal. England were unable to score an equaliser - Olarticoechea making a particularly important defensive contribution in the 87th minute when he and Lineker both jumped for the ball from another Barnes cross, the two players collided, both missed the ball by a whisker (but there was no question of it being anything other than a fair challenge on both sides), and it was Lineker himself who ended up in the back of the net instead of the ball. England ran out of time, and Argentina won the match 2–1.
Aftermath
Hodge swapped shirts with Maradona after the game; Hodge loaned out the Argentinian's jersey to the National Football MuseumNational Football Museum
The National Football Museum was a museum in Preston, Lancashire, England founded to preserve, conserve and interpret several important collections of association football memorabilia. It was built outside Deepdale, which as of 2010 is the oldest continuously used football league ground in the world...
in the 2000s. Maradona also praised the English, noting that they did not knock him down much compared to the teams of other nations who heavily marked and tackled him.
The game added hugely to the rivalry between the two teams in England where many felt that they had been cheated out of the competition by Maradona's hand ball. Meanwhile, in Argentina, the game was seen as revenge for the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
and for what they still see as the unfair game in the 1966 World Cup
1966 FIFA World Cup
The 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth staging of the World Cup, was held in England from 11 July to 30 July. England beat West Germany 4–2 in the final, winning the World Cup for the first time, so becoming the first host to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.-Host selection:England was chosen as...
. The former Argentinian international Roberto Perfumo
Roberto Perfumo
Roberto Alfredo Perfumo is a former Argentine footballer.-Club career:El Mariscal won the Intercontinental Cup with Racing Club in 1967, as well as two Argentine leagues, and three with River Plate.-International career:...
stated that "'In 1986, winning that game against England was enough. Winning the World Cup was secondary for us. Beating England was our real aim".
Although the first goal proved highly controversial in England, Maradona's second goal was nevertheless recognised all over the world for its brilliance. A notable example of the English appreciation of his genius occurred in a 2002 poll conducted by Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, where the UK public voted Maradona's performance #6 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments. Outside the Estadio Azteca a statue of Maradona scoring the goal was erected to commemorate the moment.
Argentina went on to win the 1986 FIFA World Cup, as well as finishing runners-up in the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...
. England's Lineker won the golden shoe for being top scorer in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. With a similar squad, England finished fourth in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, their highest finish since 1966.
The two teams have since met twice in World Cup matches. Argentina won a round-of-16 match in the shootout at the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
, after one penalty kick
Penalty kick
A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...
was awarded to each side, David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
was sent off, and Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...
scored his famous goal. At the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
the teams met in the group stage, and the match which began at twelve noon UK time, was described as the "longest lunch break in history" as millions in England and throughout the world stopped their jobs and activities to watch the game on TV. England won 1–0 courtesy of Beckham's penalty kick and Argentina later failed to advance to the knockout round.
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| GK | 18 | Nery Pumpido Nery Pumpido Nery Alberto Pumpido is a football coach and former goalkeeper who played for the Argentine national team in two World Cups. After retirement, Pumpido moved into club management and is currently in his second spell as coach of Paraguayan side Olimpia of Asunción.-Club career:Pumpido began his... |
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| DF | 5 | Jose Luis Brown | ||
| DF | 9 | Jose Cuciuffo | ||
| DF | 19 | Oscar Ruggeri Oscar Ruggeri Oscar Alfredo Ruggeri is a former footballer. Nicknamed "El Cabezón" , Ruggeri is one of the most successful defenders ever to come out of Argentina.... |
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| MF | 2 | Sergio Batista Sergio Batista Sergio Daniel "Checho" Batista is an Argentine football manager and former footballer. He played as a midfielder, and represented his national team 39 times between 1985 and 1990. He was head coach of Argentina national football team from July 2010 to July 2011.-Club:Batista played youth football... |
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| MF | 7 | Jorge Burruchaga Jorge Burruchaga Jorge Luis Burruchaga is a former Argentine professional football player, and last manager of Arsenal de Sarandí in the Primera División Argentina... |
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| MF | 10 | Diego Maradona Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting... (c) |
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| MF | 12 | Hector Enrique Héctor Enrique Héctor Adolfo Enrique is a retired Argentine footballer and current assistant coach of the Argentina national team... |
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| MF | 14 | Ricardo Giusti Ricardo Giusti Ricardo Omar Giusti is a former Argentine footballer. A solid midfield player, he played most of his career at Independiente.... |
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| MF | 16 | Julio Olarticoechea Julio Olarticoechea Julio Jorge Olarticoechea is a former football defender and World Champion from Argentina, who played at the 1982, 1986 and the 1990 World Cups.... |
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| FW | 11 | Jorge Valdano | ||
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| MF | 21 | Carlos Tapia | ||
| Manager: | ||||
| Carlos Bilardo Carlos Bilardo Carlos Salvador Bilardo is an Argentine former football player and coach, who is currently the General Manager of the Argentina national football team.... |
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Peter Shilton
Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....
(c)
Gary Stevens
Gary Michael Stevens is a retired English footballer who is best remembered playing in defence for a successful Everton side of the 1980s, as well as for the England national football team....
Kenny Sansom
Kenneth Graham Sansom is an English former footballer. Until overtaken by Ashley Cole in February 2011, he held the record for the number of caps for an England national football team full back, having appeared 86 times for his country between 1979 and 1988.- Crystal Palace :Sansom started out...
Terry Fenwick
Terence William 'Terry' Fenwick is an English football coach and former player. He is the current head coach for San Juan Jabloteh of the TT Pro League in Trinidad and Tobago.- Player :...
Terry Butcher
Terence Ian "Terry" Butcher is an English football manager and former player. He was a highly successful football player and made his name as an uncompromising defender with Ipswich Town and Rangers in the 1980s. He was also a captain of England and won 77 caps in a ten-year international career...
Glenn Hoddle
Glenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
Peter Reid
Peter Reid is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career...
Trevor Steven
Trevor McGregor Steven is a football talent scout. He was formerly an England footballer who shot to fame with the successful Everton side of the 1980s....
Steve Hodge
Stephen Brian Hodge is a retired English footballer who enjoyed a high-profile club and international career in the 1980s and 1990s.- Playing career :...
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
Peter Beardsley
Peter Andrew Beardsley MBE is an English former footballer who played between 1979 and 1999. He once set a record transfer fee in the game and represented his country 59 times between 1986 and 1996, once as captain...
Chris Waddle
Christopher Roland "Chris" Waddle is a former footballer from England. He played for a number of clubs in the 1980s and 90s, including Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield Wednesday in England, and Olympique de Marseille in France...
John Barnes (footballer)
John Charles Bryan Barnes MBE is an English football manager and former player.During his playing career, Barnes had successful periods at Watford and Liverpool in the 1980s and 1990s, winning the First Division twice, the FA Cup twice, and playing for England 79 times...
Bobby Robson
Sir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
Linesmen:  Berny Ulloa MoreraBerny Ulloa Morera Berny Ulloa Morera is a retired football referee from Costa Rica. He is known for having refereed the famous quarter-final match in the 1986 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and England, and in the final of the same tournament between Argentina and Germany.-References:*...  Bogdan DotchevBogdan Dotchev Bogdan Guanev Dotchev is a retired Bulgarian football referee. He is known for having refereed two matches in the FIFA World Cup, one in 1982 and one in 1986. Dotchev was a linesman in the game between England and Argentina in 1986 in which the Hand of God was scored by Diego Maradona.-References:*... |