The hand of God The hand of God The hand of God is the name given to the goal scored by Argentine footballer Diego Armando Maradona in the quarter-final match between Argentina and England at the 1986 World Cup on 22 June 1986 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The game ended with a 2-1 win for the Argentinians, thanks to the so-called "Goal of the Century", also scored by Maradona. Diego Maradona himself declared after the match that the goal had scored "a little with his head and a little with the hand of God", and from there the world press baptized
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,