The most controversial goal in World Cup history, then the best he had ever seen live – David Pleat knew he was witnessing something unforgettable inside Mexico City's Azteca Stadium. It was 1986, and the England-Argentina quarter-final would be defined by Diego Maradona.
Working his first television match for ITV, Pleat climbed high to the gantry alongside commentator Martin Tyler. Below, 114,000 fans made a noise "like a huge nest of bees". The buildup was already chaotic: traffic bumper to bumper, corrupt local policemen demanding bribes from drivers.
“England face Mexico at the Azteca 40 years after Maradona's Hand of God; fans recall tanks and police lifts.”
England had a strong spine – Peter Shilton in goal, Terry Butcher at centre-back, Glenn Hoddle in midfield, Gary Lineker up front – but Pleat worried about recovery speed at altitude. "If you make a surging run it is difficult to recover quickly," he recalled.
Early in the second half came Maradona's first: the "Hand of God". In Pleat's view, the Argentine raised his arm, wary of being thumped by the onrushing Shilton, and the ball nestled in the net. England players raced towards referee Ali Ben Nasser to protest. The Tunisian never officiated another World Cup game but kept the ball as a souvenir.
Minutes later, Maradona scored a magnificent second – twisting past Reid, Beardsley, Butcher and Fenwick before slotting past Shilton. "There could be no protests this time," Pleat wrote.
Among the 114,580 fans was 29-year-old Peter Robinson, an England superfan from Hayes, Middlesex. Now 69 and attending his eleventh World Cup in 2026, he remembered tanks outside the ground that day. "It certainly was a different era," he said. After the match, Mexican police gave hundreds of England fans lifts back to the city in the back of official police pick-up trucks. "I jumped in one. There were no seat belts or health and safety issues back then!"
The match was played four years after the Falklands War, and Robinson recalled most Mexicans supporting England – possibly due to rivalry with Argentina. There were around 4,000 England fans, many from America, but the majority of the crowd were Argentine. He had been in the stadium four days earlier when England beat Paraguay 3-0, staying in Acapulco because Mexico City had been hit by an earthquake six months earlier, with families living on the streets.
Robinson called that 1986 tournament his "best World Cup of them all". Now England are back at the Azteca – they face Mexico on Sunday. "I don't think England can win it but I think we can make the quarter or semi finals," he said. The passion of Mexican fans remains intense: over a million took to the streets after their victory over Ecuador earlier this week, with four deaths reported.
For Pleat, it was an iconic "I was there" day – and 40 years later, the echoes of Maradona's genius and infamy still reverberate around the old bowl.