The day when Diego Maradona scored the 'Hand of God' and 'Goal of the Century' against England
On this day, Diego Maradona had scored the iconic “Hand of God” helping Argentina defeat England in 1986. The goal was scored in front of over 100,000 fans who were present in the Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium to witness one of the most controversial matches in football history.
The goal came in the 51st minute of the match, in which Maradona had found the net using his left hand. The goal was allowed as referee Ali Bin Nasser was unable to witness the hand used.
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.'”
In the very same match, he went on to score a goal that would go on to be reckoned as one of the greatest solo goals of all-time. His second came just after 3 minutes from the first goal, after he was successful in dribbling past five England players, Beardsley, Reid, Butcher, Fenwick, and goalkeeper Peter Shilton to score the goal.
The goal was later chosen as the “Goal of the Century” in an online poll conducted by FIFA in 2002.