“I asked Diego whether he’d scored with his hand. His reply was pure Maradona”
Ahead of Argentina’s World Cup semifinal against England, AS spoke to ex-Albiceleste forward Jorge Valdano, who played in 1986’s ‘Hand of God’ game.
Former Argentina striker Jorge Valdano is covering the 2026 World Cup for the Mexican broadcaster TV Azteca. Just hours before the Albiceleste takes on England in the semifinals, Valdano spoke with AS about a matchup whose deep backstory includes his generation’s World Cup quarterfinal with the English in 1986. Played in the aftermath of the Falklands War, a 1982 conflict between Britain and Argentina, it was an unforgettable encounter: the match of the ‘Hand of God’ and the ‘Goal of the Century.’
What does it mean for an Argentine to play against England?
It’s not the same as when we played them. Back then, only four years had passed since the Falklands War. Now it’s been 44. When our Argentina team played against England, it was a wound that was still open; for today’s team, it’s something that’s in the past. That 1986 match reflected an entire country. Today, the game is explained simply in footballing terms.
What do you remember about the moments leading up to the 1986 match?
We had to manage our emotions. Otherwise, we risked ending up with three players sent off. That’s exactly why it would be unfair to compare that match with this one. The 1986 game became part of history because Maradona turned it into a work of art.
Did you face political or military pressure of any kind?
The influence came more from the people than from anywhere else. It wasn’t really exploited politically. Raúl Alfonsín was Argentina’s president at the time, and in an effort to distance himself from the dictatorship and everything that had happened around the 1978 World Cup, he was quite restrained in his dealings with the players. I do remember some members of Congress trying to turn the match into a continuation of the war by other means. Some of them even suggested we shouldn’t play.
Not exactly a message that would discourage Maradona...
Maradona went into that World Cup as a soccer player and left it as a national hero forever. That tournament marked all of us, but nobody more than him. No one was capable of creating a masterpiece like the one he produced against England. Diego embodied two qualities that define Argentines: cunning and extraordinary talent.
The match threw up two iconic moments: the ‘Hand of God’ and the ‘Goal of the Century.’ Maradona was at the center of both.
Yes, and both nicknames are distinctly Argentine. Back then, we weren’t subject to the laws of VAR. It was a far more old-fashioned version of the game. Today, soccer is full of artificialities. In our era, players had more freedom, and that’s exactly what Diego was in that match: free. Look at today’s game. I see [England boss Thomas] Tuchel and think he’s almost too much of a coach, even for a coach. And [Argentina’s ’86 coach Carlos] Bilardo was highly tactical, but players still had more room to express themselves than they do now.
What did Maradona tell you about his handball goal when you got back to the locker room?
I don’t remember exactly. What has stayed with me is what I said to him. On the field, I asked Diego whether he’d scored with his hand. His reply was pure Maradona: “I’ll tell you after the game.”
Then came the ‘Goal of the Century,’ as Maradona weaved through half the England team before beating Peter Shilton.
That goal generated so much discussion that I even did an exclusive piece for France Football about the play itself. Everything has been written and said about that goal. It’s the masterpiece we were talking about earlier.
There are incredible stories about what happened at the Azteca that afternoon. For example, Bilardo supposedly ordered the team’s usual jerseys scrapped because they didn’t breathe properly in the heat, forcing the staff to hunt for replacements all over the city...
It was improvisation. People tell the story as if it were a stroke of genius, but the truth is that 24 hours before the match we didn’t even know what jerseys we were going to play in. It’s not something that should necessarily be praised, but thanks to the legend of that game, even that episode has become larger than life.
The game has changed a lot since then.
Absolutely. The 1986 match was played on an uneven field, and I’d even say England still played a fairly rudimentary style of soccer. Maradona transformed that game into something else entirely. A lot of time has passed. Today’s Premier League is soccer’s global laboratory, and Tuchel has built a sophisticated team. Argentina, meanwhile, has become even more competitive, although in its last game it seemed short on energy and fluidity.
What would Maradona say about the Lionel Messi of today?
The two of them already shared a dressing room, with Diego as coach and Leo as a player. I think geniuses recognize one another, and Maradona, who was a professional rebel, certainly recognized Messi’s greatness.
Messi never seems to run out of magic.
He’s proof that pure talent can rise above everything else in this game. Modern soccer is dominated by overanalysis. Opponents study every detail of what a player can and will do. But with Messi, they still can’t stop him. They really can’t.
This semifinal should be a battle.
Well, neither team is perfect. The match carries enormous historical and footballing significance. Both teams suffered to get here. They needed the drama of extra time to reach the semifinals. The difference is that England has discovered another scorer. With [Jude] Bellingham, they’re a two-barrel shotgun. Argentina has concentrated almost everything around Messi, although the goals Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez have scored could make them every bit as dangerous as well.
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