Thursday 7 June 2018 10:22, UK
Diego Maradona made his mark on the World Cup but Argentina's triumph will be remembered for the Hand of God, writes Reece Killworth.
Mexico 1986 was a tournament of unanswered questions for me. The most obvious one being: how did referee Ali Bennaceur not spot that handball by Diego Maradona?
But I also wanted to know how Gary Lineker hurt his wrist (you must remember the cast). And why was Terry Fenwick in the England squad? All these things - and more - played on my mind then, and still do now.
You see I never did manage to find the answer to any of these questions. One thing I did learn, though, was that football can be a cruel game. I found that out on 22nd June in the Azteca Stadium.
After keeping the mighty Argentines at bay for much of the first half, England had started to come into their own - but six minutes after the break Maradona took centre stage.
The next 20 seconds are imprinted in my mind. I see Steve Hodge slice the ball into his own area. Out comes Peter Shilton, though, and he'll surely punch it clear. But somehow Maradona - who must stand at no more than 5ft 6in - has beaten him to the ball and it loops into the net.
The little Argentine wheels away towards the corner flag to celebrate, but not without glancing over his shoulder to look at the referee.
Shilton races out of his area with his left arm in the air screaming "handball, handball, ref, he's handled it" (or words to that effect) but the official gives the goal.
The fact that four minutes later Maradona scored one of the greatest goals of all time mattered little then, it was only years later that I could appreciate the quality of that strike.
The only thing I cared about was that England had been cheated out of a semi-final appearance.
Of course, after Maradona's goal Lineker had given us hope with his Golden Boot-winning effort but when he was inches away from connecting with a John Barnes cross, the game was up and a place in the last four had gone.
Admittedly, such an achievement had been far from my thoughts as I had settled down for England's first match almost three weeks earlier.
A 1-0 defeat by a distinctly average Portugal side was followed by a 0-0 draw with Morocco and I was ready to throw in the towel.
As a fickle nine-year-old I was ready to switch my allegiance to France or Brazil. But I had not counted on Gary Lineker and his ever-present plaster cast.
With his wrist bandaged Lineker netted a superb hat-trick against Poland in England's final group game to lead them into the second round along with Morocco.
But by then the Tartan Army were already winging their way back to these shores having endured a terrible time.
Despite taking the lead against West Germany and playing 11 against 10 for 89 minutes and four seconds against Uruguay, the Scots returned home having finished bottom of their group.
They had earned a place in the record books, though, as Sergio Batista's red card against them was the fastest in World Cup history.
Apart from games involving the home nations, though, the rest of the tournament had passed me by somewhat.
But after 120 minutes of captivating second-round action at the Nou Camp (no, not that one), I vowed not to miss another game in the tournament
Belgium 4-3 Soviet Union was the result in one of the matches of the finals.
The Soviets led twice but inspired performances from Nico Claesen and Enzo Scifo saw the Belgians through.
England's opponents were Paraguay, who were dispatched 3-0 with Lineker netting his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament and Peter Beardsley adding a strike of his own.
The big dangers for England at that stage looked to be Spain, whose 5-1 win over Denmark had included four goals from Emilio Butragueno.
Penalty shoot-outs were the order of the day in the quarter-finals, with France and West Germany - who else? - winning on spot kicks to reach the last four.
They were joined there by Argentina - of course - and Belgium, who stunned Spain on penalties
With England out and the Belgians facing Argentina next, I transferred my support (as nine-year-olds often do).
The likes of Scifo, Ceulemans and Claesen became my heroes as I rallied behind Belgium. Surely someone could stop Argentina.
But no, it was game, set and match Maradona as the little wizard mesmerised the Belgians - scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory which set up a final clash with the West Germans.
As we all know the Argentines went on to win 3-2 in the final and the sight of Maradona dancing around the dressing room after the match still grates with me some 24 years later.
It would be too easy to go for Gary Lineker. Although he scored six goals - which won him the Golden Boot - and was English, he got nowhere near matching the all-round quality of Maradona. Lineker's goals, except the one against Argentina, came against 'lesser' teams, while Maradona was an inspiration throughout the tournament.
He either scored or had a hand in all of the Argentina goals in the first stage and went on to grab goals in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. His 'Hand of God' goal will never be forgotten, but his second against England - described as a "miracle" by Bobby Robson - stands the test of time as one of the greatest goals ever scored.
Barry Davies has never been the most excitable of commentators, particularly when England are trailing.
So when he describes a goal by a foreign player against England as "magnificent", you know it was pretty good.
Maradona picked up the ball 10 yards inside his own half and passed Peter Reid, Fenwick (twice) and Terry Butcher in a mazy run which took him to within the England penalty area.
Anyone else would have squared the ball, but Maradona was not satisfied and with Butcher on his tail, he coolly slotted past Peter Shilton.
A match that had it all.
The 'Hand of God', one of the greatest goals of all time, a typically English comeback and Lineker's Golden-Boot-winning goal.
And I'll still never know how he failed to score from that cross from Barnes in the second half. Another question I'll never find the answer to.
England secured their place at the 1986 World Cup after going unbeaten in qualifying Group 3.
In Mexico, they were drawn alongside Morocco, Poland and Portugal, who they lost to in their opening game.
England's second clash versus Morocco ended in a 0-0 stalemate but a hat-trick from Gary Lineker helped them seal the runners-up berth on goal difference.
England comfortably overcame Paraguay in the last 16, as Lineker added a further two goals to his tally, and they then faced Argentina in the quarter-finals.
But that match-up against the eventual winners ended in despair after a moment of controversy from Diego Maradona was followed by a moment of brilliance from the diminutive attacker.
Northern Ireland emerged as runners-up in qualifying Group 3 after being drawn against local rivals England. The Northern Irish drew their final game of qualifying against the English to ensure they denied Romania.
But they faced a stern test when they were placed against Brazil, Spain and Algeria in Group D at Mexico.
They were denied an opening clash victory versus the Algerians when Djamel Zidane cancelled out Norman Whiteside's strike.
And the Northern Irish then lost out to Spain 2-1, with Colin Clarke's 46th minute strike proving in vain.
Northern Ireland's disappointing tournament was compounded in their final group game when South American giants Brazil cruised to a 3-0 win.
Wales failed to reach the 1986 World Cup after coming third in Group 7. The Welsh won three of their six outings but were edged out by rivals Scotland on goal difference.
Scotland came second as Spain topped qualifying Group 7. The Scots were forced to battle for a 1-1 draw on the Welsh's home turf to ensure they advanced to the play-off.
The Scots faced Australia in the play-off encounter and a home 2-0 win handed them the advantage as they fought for a 0-0 stalemate in the return leg.
But their campaign at the World Cup finals was a disappointing one as they failed to win any of their three fixtures.
First, the Scots were defeated 1-0 against Denmark before they fell to a 2-1 loss against West Germany. Their last game versus Uruguay ended in a 0-0 draw and ensured they finished bottom of Group E.
