Messi and Maradona: 40 years apart for World Cup brace 

STEVE GOLDBERG | SCS MEDIA © 1986

Argentina's Diego Maradona scores against England in a June 22, 1986, World Cup match in Mexico City, Mexico. Argentina star Lionel Messi matched the feat against Austria on June 22, 2026.

On June 22, 1986, I sat in the press tribune at Stadio Azteca in Mexico City on a sunny afternoon for a quarterfinal match between England and Argentina. The headlines going into the game focused more on the lingering acrimony born from a 10-week war over the Falkland Islands, a self-governing British territory between the two nations, which had occurred four years earlier.

It would be forever remembered, however, for the brilliance of Diego Armando Maradona scoring the most infamous and most famous goals in FIFA World Cup history. 

Forty years later, to the day, I watched another Argentine legend, Lionel Messi, score his own brace of goals. Granted, the circumstances were far different. Argentina’s 2-0 win catapulted them to the country’s second World Cup trophy. 

Messi’s pair of goals came against Austria in just the second game of group play. But with his hat trick in the first match against Algeria, he became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history, only further cementing his place in the conversation about who is the greatest player of all time.

As a witness to the exploits of both icons, I saw unique similarities.

Messi’s first goal, in itself, was nothing as infamous as Maradona’s “Hand of God” against England. Only three people in the world, out of the 114,580 in the stadium and millions more on television, did not see the clear handball violation. Unfortunately, they were Ali Bin Nasser, the referee, and his two linemen for the match. Even the concept of a Video Assistant Referee would have been considered science fiction at the time.

In the 51st minute, the 5-foot-5 Maradona jumped to contest a ball – lobbed in front of the goal mouth on a botched clearance by England midfielder Steve Hodge – against the 6-1 goalkeeper Peter Shilton. 
Raising his left arm above his head to protect himself from the onrushing keeper, he instead used it to knock the ball over him and into the net.

Messi’s left-footed drive on his first goal was without fault – everything we’ve come to expect from the greatest player of his generation. He did nothing wrong. That said, it shouldn’t have counted either, as there was a clear foul by Argentina in the build-up to the score when Alexis MacAllister kicked through Austria’s Xaver Schlager from behind to win the ball near midfield, launching the Argentine attack. Hence, the arguments against VAR, which was instituted for the very purpose of catching such a clear and obvious error on the pitch.

It became a clear and obvious error in the VAR booth as well, but it will never have the legacy of Maradona’s transgression. “Hand of Technology” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Though far more compact, Messi’s second tally against Austria was remarkably similar to Maradona’s second goal against England, which remains arguably the most impressive goal in World Cup history. 

Just four minutes after not having the most high-stakes handball in history punished, Maradona claimed the ball in his own half, then dodged and darted, accelerated and braked, sidestepped and spun his way around all of England before sliding the ball into the net. It was magnificent and will never be challenged as the greatest sports moment I’ve seen in person.

Messi’s second goal demonstrated the most important attributes he shares with Maradona. A mind that is quicker than his fleet feet, and a determination to succeed that is second to none.

Messi created the opportunity with a lasered pass from the right side to Julian Alvarez who was unmarked inside the Austrian penalty area. When his shot was well parried by Alexander Schlager, the Austrian keeper,

Messi was already reading ahead of the action, and on the move into the area. Leandro Paredes collected the rebound and played it to Messi, now in the middle, but he had to take the ball off the foot of teammate Enzo Fernandez, who did well not to trip up the talisman.

Messi danced around Schlager, who was still well off his goal line, but his shot was blocked by Nicolas Seiwald and deflected wider to the left. He beat Seiwald to the ball and, while falling to the ground, slammed the ball past him and Kevin Danso inside the post.

Golden Boots

Messi has scored all five of Argentina’s goals through two games in this World Cup, and the two on Monday lifted him above the previous all-time record holder for World Cup goals, Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who had 16 in four tournaments from 2002-14.

Brazilian Ronaldo held the record before Klose with 15 goals in four tournaments (from 1994 to 2006. Pele had 12 goals across four World Cups (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970).

Chasing Messi for the all-time record, as well as the Golden Boot in this tournament, is Kylian Mbappe, who now has 16 after scoring four in the first two games for France. Also in contention for the Golden Boot is Norway’s Erling Haaland with four goals in his first World Cup. Denis Undav of Germany and Canada’s Jonathan David have three goals apiece.

Messi’s 18 goals have come in 28 matches across six World Cups, an average of .64 per match.

In his third tournament for France, Mbappe is on a goal-per-game average with 16 netfinders in 16 games so far. 

Hungarian Sandor Kocsis has the highest average with 2.2 per match, all 11 in five games during the 1954 event, where he was the top scorer. Right behind him is Frenchman Just Fontaine (2.17), whose 13 goals in 1958 are still the most in a single World Cup. The players that came closest to this tally were Hungarian Sandor Kocsis in 1954 (11 goals), Germany’s Gerd Müller in 1970 (10 goals), and Portugal's Eusébio in 1966 (nine goals).

No one has scored in double figures since Muller. Only two have scored eight, including Brazil’s Ronaldo in 2002 and Mbappe, when he won the Golden Boot in 2022. Grzegorz Lato of Poland netted seven in 1974.

In the six tournaments from 1978-98, the Golden Boot winners – Mario Kempes (Argentina), Paolo Rossi (Italy), Gary Lineker (England), Salvatore Schillaci (Italy), Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)/Oleg Salenko (Russia), and Davor Suker (Croatia), each had six.

Four players – Diego Forlan, David Villa, Wesley Sneijder, and Thomas Muller - were tied with five each in the 2010 event, the same as Klose in 2006. 

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