The Match

Mexico, 1986. England and Argentina meet in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Relations between the two countries, which had recently been at war, are far from friendly. The match is played in the shadow of the conflict over the Falkland Islands, making the build-up as much about national pride and political gain as it is about football. All of that changes when a certain Diego Maradona takes to the pitch and writes his name—and the ‘Hand of God’—into the history books.

Forty years after one of the most memorable World Cup matches of all time, those involved look back on the deep-rooted historical rivalry, in which the beauty of football clashes with the absurdity of war.