First half The game started with both teams exchanging chances. 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 facetiously commented 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"), after which it became known as the "
Hand of God" goal. The goal helped intensify the
footballing rivalry between the two nations.
Cesar Luis Menotti said, "People said, 'Great! Better, much better, that the goal was so unjust, so cruel, because it hurt the English more.'" In the 2019
documentary film directed by
Asif Kapadia, Maradona linked the event to the Falklands War: "We, as Argentinians, didn't know what the military was up to. They told us that we were winning the war. But in reality, England was winning. It was tough. The hype made it seem like we were going to play out another war. I knew it was my hand. It wasn't my plan but the action happened so fast that the linesman didn't see me putting my hand in. The referee looked at me and he said: 'Goal.' It was a nice feeling like some sort of symbolic revenge against the English."
The Goal of the Century Four minutes after the
Hand of God goal came a second goal as the ball was passed to Maradona inside his own half. Maradona then began his 60-yard, 10-second dash towards the English goal, passing four English outfield players:
Peter Beardsley,
Peter Reid,
Terry Butcher (twice) and
Terry Fenwick. Maradona finished the move with a
feint that left goalkeeper
Peter Shilton on his bottom, before slotting the ball into the empty net to make the score 2–0 to Argentina. About the goal, Maradona said to reporters, "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 buildup to the
2002 FIFA World Cup tournament on the
FIFA website. It beat a goal scored by England's
Michael Owen against Argentina in the
1998 FIFA World Cup, which came second, whilst another 1986 FIFA World Cup goal by Maradona, from the semi-final match against
Belgium, came fourth. In Spanish-speaking countries, this goal is usually associated with the passionate live commentary by Uruguayan journalist
Víctor Hugo Morales (translation from Spanish):
Lineker's goal and Argentine victory Argentina's 2–0 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 81st minute from a Barnes cross. Argentina 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 and Argentina won the match 2–1.
Details ==Aftermath and legacy==