Forty years after the most iconic and painful match in the history of English football, The Three Lions return to the Azteca Stadium. England will face Mexico this Sunday in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, on the same stage where on June 22, 1986 they lost 2-1 to Argentina.
That duel was forever recorded in the collective memory of world football. That afternoon, Diego Armando Maradona scored two of the most memorable goals in history in just four minutes: first he marked with his hand in an action that he himself baptized as the “Hand of God” and then he scored what is considered the best goal of the 20th century, after dribbling past half the English team from the center of the field.
The 1986 match was also wrapped in special symbolism due to the tensions between Argentina and England arising from the Falklands War, fought just four years earlier. That quarterfinal match at Mexico 1986 represented much more than a sporting result for both nations and its consequences resonated for decades.
40 YEARS LATER, ENGLAND RETURNS TO THE AZTECA.
His last memory in that stadium: Maradona’s “Hand of God” in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup. That afternoon was forever marked in history. pic.twitter.com/eCffS9rEKM
— José Ramón Fernández (@joserra_espn) July 1, 2026
Now, Azteca will welcome a completely different generation of Englishmen, with Jordan Pickford in goal, Harry Kane leading the attack and Thomas Tuchel on the bench, although the memory of that night is still present in the imagination of British football.
Tuchel himself did not hide the historical weight of the return to Azteca and assured that karma could be on England’s side. “It’s a good time to make peace with the stadium and turn history around”he stated.
The German coach also acknowledged that the altitude will be one of the main challenges for his team in the first minutes of the game. “The ball will fly differently. Maybe it will travel five yards further. We need to live that experience”he pointed out.
Furthermore, Tuchel warned that the Azteca atmosphere and the support of the Mexican fans will represent an additional challenge for the Three Lions in a scenario marked by history.
For Mexico, the meeting also has a special value. The Tricolor will try to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since Mexico 1986, while the Azteca will once again be the scene of another historic chapter in the World Cups.