Diego Maradona jokes he CRAVES another 'Hand of God' goal vs England for 60th birthday

Argentina legend Diego Maradona knows how to rile up England fans. More than 34 years after his infamous 'Hand of God' goal against England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Maradona, who turns 60 this week, joked that the only gift he wants for his birthday is another ‘Hand of God’ goal against England, this time he'd want to score with his right hand, instead of his left.

Maradona Hand of God goal

Speaking to France Football, the Napoli icon hilariously brought back the memories of the infamous goal, that is widely regarded as one of the most controversial moments in world football history. Diego Maradona intentionally used his left hand to send the ball past then England goalkeeper Peter Shilton into the back of the net. Despite furious protests from manager Bobby Robson and the England players, the goal was not chalked off as neither the linesman nor the onfield referee spotted the foul. 

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Maradona's 51st-minute goal gave Argentina the crucial lead in the quarter-final fixture. Minutes later, Maradona scored what is regarded as one of the greatest individual goals of all time. After receiving the ball in his own half, Maradona dribbled almost 60 yards towards the England goal, beating challenges from a host of English players like Peter Beardsley, Peter Reid and Terry Butcher. The Argentinean then finished his insane play with a feint to evade Peter Shilton before slotting the ball into the empty net. 

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Courtesy of the wonderful Maradona goal, Argentina took a 2-0 lead. While England did manage to make things interesting with a late goal from Gary Linekar, the South American side held their one-goal advantage to knock England out of the tournament. Argentina went on to beat Belgium in the semi-final (Maradona scored a second-half brace) before a 3-2 win over West Germany in the final. La Albiceleste won their second World Cup, which is also the last they have lifted till date. Maradona scored five goals for his team, picking up the Golden Ball for along the way. 

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This is not the only time Diego Maradona brought back memories of the 'Hand of God' goal. Last year, during the premier of his film called ‘Diego Maradona – Rebel, Hero, Hustler, God', the 59-year-old said the Maradona vs England goal was a "symbolic revenge" for the Falklands War that waged between Argentina and England in April 1982.

"I knew it was my hand,” he said. “It wasn’t my plan but the action happened so fast that the linesman didn’t see me putting my hand in. The referee looked at me and he said: ‘Goal'. It was a nice feeling like some sort of symbolic revenge against the English.”

Maradona will celebrate is 60th birthday on Friday, October 30. 

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(Image Credits: AP)