On this day: Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' that was hated by some but loved by millions more

There have been few games in World Cup - and indeed football - history that have left more of a lasting impact on the sport than Argentina's victory over England in the 1986 quarter-finals in Mexico City.

Played at the famous Estadio Azteca, the match was taken over by the greatest player on the planet at the time - and, for some, maybe of all time - in Argentina's captain and No.10, Diego Maradona.

But while Maradona's second goal of the game encapsulated his brilliance perhaps better than any other he scored in his career, his first was an equally perfect example of his ability to create controversy and divide opinion.

We are talking, of course, about the 'Hand of God', as Maradona dubbed the opening goal himself after punching an aerial ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton on this day 35 years ago. It was and still is the most astonishing moment in football and in the rivalry between England and Argentina that continues to this day.

England had finished second in their group and beaten Paraguay in the round of 16 to qualify for the quarter-finals, while Argentina were unbeaten and had seen off Uruguay to book their place in the last eight. Having already built up a footballing rivalry, four years earlier the two countries had been at war for the Falkland Islands.

That added plenty of extra tension to what was always likely to be a fiery game. Maradona lined up behind Jorge Valdano in Argentina's 3-5-1-1 formation, while England played a fairly narrow 4-4-2 with Steve Hodge and Trevor Steven furthest wide in the midfield.

The first half passed without any goals, but though Peter Beardsley had a good chance for England it was Argentina who enjoyed more of the ball and were asking more questions in the attacking third. Their superiority would tell early in the second half in two of the most famous moments, for very different reasons, in the history of the World Cup.

Even the Hand of God, though, started with a bit of Maradona brilliance. The No.10 skipped past Glenn Hoddle and then squeezed in between two more England players before sliding a pass out to Valdano and making his way into the box. The ball skipped up on Valdano's foot and Hodge wildly hooked it into his own penalty area, where Maradona rose and punched the ball past the onrushing Shilton.

None of the officials spotted it - and so did no one else, for a while, except the England players in the vicinity who began their desperate appeals to referee Ali Bin Nasser. The English commentator, Barry Davies, wondered why they were claiming an offside when the ball had clearly been played by Hodge, not an Argentina player. Davies spotted that Maradona's arm was raised on a replay, but there was still some doubt at that point as to what had actually happened.

Maradona did a good job of selling it by wheeling away in celebration, though his quick glances at the officials were telling. Bin Nasser, standing outside the box closer to England's left touchline, probably had his sightline partially blocked by Shilton and the crowd of bodies but the linesman on the opposite side, Bogdan Dotchev, should have had an unobstructed view.

England pushed forward in an attempt to respond but a few minutes later, Maradona doubled Argentina's lead with a goal that, as Davies put it, there was no doubt about.

Maradona received the ball just inside the Argentina half. Taking the first touch towards his own goal to evade one opponent, he then found himself in the face of another and rolled the ball back to spin away towards the right touchline. With some space to run into, he then sped away from Peter Reid in pursuit as he crossed the halfway line.

After the match, when TV replays and photographs had clearly established that Maradona had handled the ball, the scorer gave his first goal its famous name by commenting that it had gone in "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God".

He added later: "I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came... I told them, 'Come hug me, or the referee isn't going to allow it.'"

Bin Nasser and Dotchev blamed each other. "I was waiting for Dotchev to give me a hint of what exactly happened but he didn't signal for a handball," Bin Nasser said years later. "And the instructions FIFA gave us before the game were clear - if a colleague was in a better position than mine, I should respect his view."

England manager Bobby Robson was more certain about what he saw. "I saw the ball in the air and Maradona going for it," said Robson. "Shilton went for it as well but Maradona handled the ball into the net. You don't expect decisions like that at World Cup level."

Even Robson, however, could have no complaints about the second. "A brilliant goal," he added. "I didn't like it but I had to admire it."

Argentina eventually went on to win the world cup that year.