The 1986 World Cup: Maradona's Tournament in Mexico

The 1986 World Cup: a brief history

The 1986 World Cup was the thirteenth edition of the FIFA tournament, held in Mexico between 31 May and 29 June 1986. Argentina beat West Germany 3-2 in the final at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on 29 June 1986 to win the country''s second World Cup. The tournament has been almost universally remembered as belonging to Diego Maradona, the Argentine captain, who produced two of the most-replayed individual moments in football history within four minutes of each other in the quarter-final against England, and led an Argentine side widely regarded as below the squad level of their main competitors to a deserved trophy.

The Mexico host switch

FIFA had awarded the 1986 World Cup to Colombia in 1974. The Colombian government, faced with severe economic difficulties through the early 1980s, withdrew the bid in November 1982. FIFA reopened the bidding process and Mexico was selected as the replacement host in May 1983, becoming the first nation to host two World Cup tournaments (after the 1970 finals). The 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which killed thousands and damaged several venues, produced significant doubt about the tournament''s viability, but the host federation rebuilt damaged infrastructure in time for the kick-off.

The tournament retained the 24-team format introduced at 1982 with one structural change: the troubled second-round group stage was replaced by a more familiar round-of-16 knockout, simplifying the bracket from the round of 32 onwards.

Maradona''s pre-tournament context

Diego Maradona arrived at the 1986 finals as the most-discussed footballer in the world. He had captained Argentina at the 1982 World Cup as a 21-year-old (the squad eliminated by Italy in the second round), been sent off in the closing match against Brazil, and joined Barcelona for a then-world-record fee shortly afterwards. His Barcelona career had been complicated by serious injury, fights and political clashes with the Spanish federation. He had moved to Napoli in 1984 for a second world-record fee. By 1986, his combination of physical preparation, club form (Napoli would win Serie A in 1986-87 with Maradona''s leadership) and international captaincy had aligned at the right moment.

Carlos Bilardo, the Argentine head coach, had built the team around Maradona''s ability to operate as a free 10. The squad included captain Maradona, Daniel Passarella (the 1978 captain), José Luis Brown, Sergio Batista, Jorge Valdano, Jorge Burruchaga and goalkeeper Nery Pumpido.

The group stage

Argentina were drawn in Group A with Italy, Bulgaria and South Korea. The opening match against South Korea produced a 3-1 Argentine win (Valdano scored twice). The second match against Italy ended in a 1-1 draw (Maradona equalising). The third match against Bulgaria produced a 2-0 Argentine win. The squad advanced as group winners.

The most-notable group-stage results elsewhere included Northern Ireland''s 2-1 loss to Brazil in their final group game (Pat Jennings playing his 119th and final international cap on his 41st birthday), Denmark''s 6-1 thrashing of Uruguay in their second group match (the Danish "Dynamite" generation reaching their first World Cup), and the Soviet Union''s 6-0 win over Hungary.

The Hand of God and the Goal of the Century

Argentina''s round of 16 produced a 1-0 win over Uruguay (Pasculli scoring). The quarter-final against England at the Estadio Azteca on 22 June 1986 has been replayed in football retrospectives more than any other single match. The political backdrop, the Falklands War of 1982 had been fought between the two nations only four years earlier, coloured the contest from the outset.

The first half ended 0-0. In the 51st minute, Maradona ran into the England box and contested a hopeful clearance from Steve Hodge with goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Maradona reached the ball ahead of Shilton with his left fist; Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser awarded the goal. Maradona later admitted the ball had been struck by "a little of the Hand of God, a little of the head of Maradona", the phrase that has named the moment ever since.

Four minutes later, Maradona produced what has been voted the greatest goal in World Cup history. He picked up the ball in his own half, ran past Peter Beardsley and Peter Reid, beat Terry Butcher with a stepover, beat Terry Fenwick with another, and rounded Peter Shilton before slotting into the empty net. The 60-metre solo run took 11 seconds, included six touches past five England outfield players plus the goalkeeper, and produced commentary from Argentine broadcaster Víctor Hugo Morales, "Barrilete cósmico" (Cosmic kite), that has been replayed in countless retrospectives.

England pulled one back through Gary Lineker in the 81st minute (his fifth goal of the tournament; he would finish as Golden Boot winner with six). Argentina held on for a 2-1 win.

The semi-final and the second Maradona run

The semi-final against Belgium at the Estadio Azteca on 25 June 1986 produced two further Maradona goals. The first, in the 51st minute, was a low long-range finish. The second, in the 63rd minute, was another solo run, beating four Belgian defenders on a diagonal run from the centre circle into the box before slipping a low finish past goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff. The 2-0 win sent Argentina to the final.

The other semi-final, France 0-2 West Germany at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, produced a German win and avenged the 1982 semi-final defeat (although that match had been settled on penalties).

The final

The final, played at the Estadio Azteca on 29 June 1986 in front of 114,600 spectators, ended in a 3-2 Argentine win. José Luis Brown opened the scoring with a header in the 23rd minute. Jorge Valdano added the second in the 56th minute. West Germany pulled level through Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in the 74th minute and Rudi Völler in the 81st minute. Maradona''s through-ball to Jorge Burruchaga in the 84th minute set up the winner; Burruchaga''s long run produced a low finish past Toni Schumacher, and Argentina lifted the trophy 3-2.

Maradona was named Player of the Tournament. He had scored five goals and assisted five more across the seven matches, with eight of those ten direct goal involvements coming in the four knockout matches. The 1986 tournament has often been described as the closest any single player has come to winning the World Cup on his own.

Lasting figures

Diego Maradona is regarded by most football historians as the second-greatest single individual figure in football history, behind Pelé and ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (depending on the historian). The 1986 tournament produced his definitive performance. His subsequent career at Napoli (Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990, UEFA Cup in 1989), the 1990 World Cup runner-up finish, and the 1994 cocaine ban produced one of the most complicated arc of any football life. He died in 2020 at age 60.

Gary Lineker won the 1986 Golden Boot with six goals, becoming the only English player to win the award. He is the most decorated England striker of the post-1966 era and went on to a long broadcasting career.

Carlos Bilardo, the Argentine head coach, designed a team built around Maradona''s ability to create from a free 10. His "Bilardismo" approach, pragmatic, physical, defensively rigid, has been the foundational philosophical alternative to Menotti''s "Menotismo" for the past four decades of Argentine football.

Diego Maradona's golden ball and hand of god legacy

Diego Maradona's performances at the 1986 tournament established him as one of the greatest individual players in World Cup history. He scored five goals and created numerous others, winning the Golden Ball as the tournament's outstanding player. His two goals against England in the quarter-final are celebrated separately: the first (the so-called 'Hand of God') involved his hand, which the referee did not see; the second showcased his dribbling abilities as he ran from the halfway line past multiple English defenders.

Maradona's performances carried Argentina through the tournament at a time when many expected Mexico (a superior footballing side in terms of collective play) to progress further. His individual brilliance compensated for Argentina's tactical limitations and proved that a single world-class player could still decisively influence a World Cup tournament.

Mexico's expansion and the last-16 introduction

The 1986 tournament expanded the knockout stages from eight teams (quarter-finals only) to 16 teams (introducing a Round of 16). This change meant that teams finishing second in their groups could progress further, increasing the stakes of group-stage matches and reducing the possibility of dead-rubber final group games. The expansion also added a day's matches, extending the tournament's duration and creating more television opportunities.

Reading on

For more on Argentina''s broader World Cup record, see our team-history piece on Argentina at the World Cup. The World Cup history hub covers every tournament from 1930 to 2026.