Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match a yellow card during extra time, which meant he would have missed the final had England won. As of 2009, the World Cup performance of 1990 under Robson remains the furthest England have progressed in the tournament on foreign soil. The Germans later went on to win the final in a game against Argentina. The knock out on penalties was Sir Bobby's second unlucky departure from the late stage of a World Cup, after England were knocked out of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, after the infamous 'Hand of God' goal by Diego Maradona in the Argentina v England
Diego Maradona been viewed as an embodiment of the Buenos Aires shanty town Maradona was brought up in and its concept of "viveza criolla" — "native cunning". While critical of the illegitimate first goal, England striker Gary Lineker conceded, “When Diego scored that second goal against us, I felt like applauding. I'd never felt like that before, but it's true... and not just because it was such an important game. It was impossible to score such a beautiful goal. He's the greatest player of all time, by a long way. A genuine phenomenon." Maradona used his hand in the 1990 World Cup,