The first strike remains the wound. With Peter Shilton coming for a high ball, Maradona appeared to beat him with his left hand before the ball went in. The officials let it stand, and the fury was immediate.
That is why the moment never really left the pitch. For England, it became shorthand for injustice. For Argentina, it sat in a murkier place: rule-breaking, yes, but also wrapped in the aura of a player who seemed to bend matches to his will.
What happened next is why the story refuses to be reduced to outrage. Just four minutes later, Maradona picked up the ball, ran roughly 60 metres, beat five English players and scored what became the “Goal of the Century.”
Gary Lineker later said, "Era impossível marcar um gol tão bonito" - and that admiration matters. Even the beaten side understood they had seen something beyond tactics or planning. One goal invited anger; the next demanded awe.
The political backdrop gave the match extra charge. Coming four years after the Falklands/Malvinas war, the game carried emotions no pre-match slogan could fully contain. Maradona reportedly returned to that theme more than once, casting the win as symbolic as well as sporting.
That is why this quarter-final still lives so loudly. It is about refereeing, revenge, brilliance and memory all at once. And the next time Argentina meet England - or the next time VAR is dragged into an old debate - Azteca 1986 will be back on the table again.