Argentina vs England: A hand, a genius and a footballing myth

There are victories, there are defeats, and then there are matches that become folklore.

Argentina's victory over England in 1986 is remembered not simply because they won, but because one man's left hand and left foot created perhaps the most famous 90 minutes in football history.

On 22 June 1986, beneath the blazing sun at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, Diego Armando Maradona rewrote football history in just four extraordinary minutes.

The quarter-final of the Fifa World Cup was more than a game. Four years after the Falklands War, the political tension between Argentina and Britain hung heavily over the encounter, making it one of the most emotionally charged fixtures football had ever seen.

The rivalry itself has always been defined by fine margins. Before 1986, England had won both previous World Cup meetings- 1-0 at the group stage in 1962 and another 1-0 victory in the second group stage in 1966.

Maradona's masterpiece in Mexico gave Argentina their first-ever World Cup win over England.

Since then, the two sides drew 2-2 in the dramatic Round of 16 clash at France '98 before Argentina prevailed on penalties, while David Beckham's penalty secured England a 1-0 victory in the group stage of the 2002 World Cup.

In five World Cup meetings, England have won three and Argentina two matches.

Yet history remembers Argentina's 1986 victory above all the others.

Then came the moment that refuses to fade.

In the 51st minute, Maradona leapt alongside England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The Argentine captain punched the ball into the net with his left fist.

The referee and assistant missed the infringement, awarding the goal despite furious English protests.

After the match, Maradona famously described it as "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God." The phrase instantly became part of football's vocabulary.

England were furious. The football world was divided.

But before the controversy had settled, Maradona produced something so magnificent that even England's supporters could only admire it.

Receiving the ball inside his own half, he glided past five English players before rounding Peter Shilton to score what Fifa later recognised as the "Goal of the Century."

It remains one of the greatest individual goals ever scored, a breathtaking display of balance, speed, courage and imagination.

That remarkable contrast-one goal born from deception, the other from pure genius-perfectly captured the complexity of Diego Maradona himself.

Gary Lineker pulled one back late for England, but Argentina held on for a 2-1 victory before lifting the World Cup weeks later.

For England, the defeat became a national sporting trauma.

"Hand of God" remains synonymous with injustice.

For Argentina, it became part revenge, part legend and part national identity.

Nearly four decades later, every meeting between the two footballing nations inevitably returns to that afternoon in Mexico.

Fans still debate whether the first goal should forever be condemned as cheating or celebrated as football's greatest act of gamesmanship.

The second goal, however, leaves no room for argument. It belongs to everyone.

Football has witnessed countless classics, but few have produced two moments so dramatically different-one infamous, one immortal-in the space of four minutes.

Argentina's last victory over England was not remembered simply because they won.

It is remembered because football has never quite seen anything like it since.