The game was held four years after the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom, and was a key part in the already intense Argentina–England football rivalry.

Argentina won the game 2–1 and went on to win the 1986 World Cup with a victory over West Germany in the final match.

The rivalry between the England and Argentina national football teams is generally traced back to the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

[5] Rattin was angered at the sending-off, feeling that the German referee Rudolf Kreitlein, who did not speak Spanish, had been biased towards the English, a fellow European nation, in front of their home fans, and stamped over the royal carpet in the stadium.

This led England manager Alf Ramsey to describe the Argentine players as "animals",[6] a comment that caused outrage in Argentina.

[4] Despite the popularity of Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa, Argentines who played with Tottenham Hotspur in England in an era before it was commonplace for clubs to have non-British players,[4] the rivalry remained strong.

Both teams won comfortably against South American opposition in that round, Argentina against Uruguay and England against Paraguay.

Although neither team began the tournaments as favourites,[7] England's form had been improving throughout the World Cup and Argentina were buoyed by the skill of Maradona.

Argentina beat Uruguay 1–0 in the round of 16 wearing blue cotton shirts that coach Carlos Bilardo believed would prove too uncomfortable in the searing Mexico City heat.

[8] Bilardo asked Argentina's kit manufacturer to come up with lighter blue shirts for the quarter-final, an impossible request given the short deadline.

With three days to go before the match, he sent out Ruben Moschella, a member of his coaching staff, to scour the shops of the Mexican capital for a suitable kit.

[7] Argentina began to dominate, with England's goalkeeper Peter Shilton saving several good chances, many created by Maradona.

Peter Beardsley had England's best chance after 13 minutes, following a slip from Nery Pumpido in Argentina's goal, but failed to take it.

At half time, the score was 0–0, Argentina having had much more of the possession and territory – and done a great deal more of the running – but having failed to get through England's defence.

[3][7] Six minutes into the second half, Maradona cut inside from the left and played a diagonal low pass to the edge of the area to teammate Jorge Valdano and continued his run in the hope of a one-two movement.

Maradona's pass was played slightly behind Valdano and reached England's Steve Hodge, the left midfielder who had dropped back to defend.

'"[15] In the 2019 documentary film directed by Asif Kapadia, Maradona linked the event to the Falklands War: "We, as Argentinians, didn't know what the military was up to.

Maradona finished the move with a feint that left goalkeeper Peter Shilton on his bottom, before slotting the ball into the empty net to make the score 2–0 to Argentina.

In Spanish-speaking countries, this goal is usually associated with the passionate live commentary by Uruguayan journalist Víctor Hugo Morales (translation from Spanish): He's going to pass it to Diego, there's Maradona with it, two men on him, Maradona steps on the ball, there goes down the right flank the genius of world football, he leaves the wing and he's going to pass it to Burruchaga...

[4] The majesty of Maradona's second goal, the solo run from midfield, and the notoriety of his first, the "hand of God", saw the French newspaper L'Équipe describe him as "half-angel, half-devil".

A notable example of the English appreciation of his genius occurred in a 2002 poll conducted by Channel 4, where the UK public voted Maradona's performance sixth in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the teams met in the group stage, and the match, which began at 12:30 PM UK time, was described as the "longest lunch break in history" as millions in England stopped their jobs and activities to watch the game on TV.

Beckham's penalty kick won the match for England and Argentina later failed to advance to the knockout round.

[20][25] On 17 August 2015, Maradona visited Ali Bin Nasser, the referee of the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, at his home in Tunisia, and paid tribute to him by giving him an Argentine jersey bearing his signature, and referred to him as "my eternal friend".