Lionel Messi became the men's all-time leading World Cup scorer with his 17th tournament goal against Austria on Monday, as Argentina marked the 40th anniversary of Diego Maradona's legendary performance against England at the 1986 World Cup. Messi's record-setting strike added a new chapter to Argentine football history on a day that celebrated Maradona's enduring legacy and his iconic "Goal of the Century".
The goal for a 1-0 lead came in the 38th minute and two days before Messi's 39th birthday, and amid the concern of an ailing father back at home. It was the sixth consecutive World Cup game in which Messi has scored a goal.
Monday marks 40 years since Maradona's defining performance in Argentina's 2-1 win over England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium.
On June 22, 1986, he scored both the infamous "Hand of God" goal and the sublime "Goal of the Century," dribbling past half the England team. The anniversary is commemorated in Argentina as the Day of the Argentine Footballer.
More than five years after his death, Maradona remains a ubiquitous figure among Argentina supporters, the only true rival to Lionel Messi's towering popularity. As fans gathered last week for a party in Kansas City, which has been serving as Argentina's tournament base, giant flags bearing Maradona references rippled through the crowds.
One banner placed him side by side with Messi and carried a single word: "simbiosis." The devotion followed the team south to Texas, where fans on Sunday chanted that "Maradona is greater than Pele," in a dig at their Brazilian rivals.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the match, coach Lionel Scaloni reflected on the 1986 moment. "I think I was at home, at my grandmother's house, because we all lived there. There were I don't know how many of us living there, we didn't have our own home. It was a very small TV," reminisced Scaloni, who was eight at the time.
"Emotional. I didn't know tomorrow was the anniversary of that great goal, so let's enjoy it. We will see it everywhere tomorrow. We'll cry a little too," Scaloni told reporters on Sunday. Austria, Monday's opponents, also have a place in Maradona lore. He scored his only international hat-trick against them in a 5-1 win in 1980.
The sides met again in 1990, each time with Argentina as defending world champions. Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.