Thirty-six years after Diego Maradona helped Argentina beat Germany to lift the World Cup in Mexico City, the shirt he wore in the game has returned to his homeland.
Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus, who swapped shirts with Maradona, donated the jersey to the Argentine embassy in Madrid in August and it was handed over to the country’s football association (AFA) by collector Marcelo Ordas on Wednesday.
“I want to thank you, Marcelo, for having brought us this armor. An important armor for all of Argentine football. This shirt allowed us to hug each other when we won the title of Mexico,” AFA president Claudio Tapia said in a statement.
“The value of this means a lot to our country and our history.”
Maradona set up Jorge Burruchaga for the winner in the 1986 final at the Azteca Stadium as Argentina triumphed 3-2 to claim their second World Cup title.
Maradona’s “Hand of God” shirt, which he wore when he scored two of the most famous goals in soccer history against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals, sold for a then-record 7.14 million pounds ($8.01 million) at an auction in May.
That shirt is on loan to the Sports Museum in Qatar which is hosting this year’s World Cup starting on Nov. 20.
Maradona’s 1986 World Cup final shirt returns to Argentina
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Maradona’s 1986 World Cup final shirt returns to Argentina
- Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus, who swapped shirts with Maradona in the Mexico 86 final, donated the jersey to the Argentine embassy in Madrid in August
- Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ shirt, which he wore when he scored two of the most famous goals in football history against England at Mexico 86, sold for $8.01m in May
Thailand and Poland crowned globe’s best at FIFAe World Cup
- Thailand crowned champion of eFootball Mobile, and Poland of Console title
- FIFAe Finals 2025 to conclude with FIFAe World Cup featuring Rocket League from Dec. 15-19
RIYADH: The FIFAe World Cup united the globe’s top nations in Riyadh at the weekend with Thailand and Poland crowned champions on mobile and console respectively.
The two competitions launched the FIFAe Finals 25, the leading event of football esports running until Dec. 19.
Represented by Jomkata “JXMKT” Yupraphat, Thailand defeated Jose Antonio “JUNINHO” Maciel junior in a captivating final to secure the crown as the world’s best on mobile.
Poland, featuring Milosz “Zilo” Zietek and Mikolaj “Ostrybuch” Zietek, lifted the trophy on console.
With over 16.5 million players taking part globally this season, the stage is set to introduce the next generation of esports talent. The journey continues in February when the FIFAe Challenger Series kicks off in-game in eFootball, marking the first step to the FIFAe World Cup 2026.
The current FIFAe World Cup featuring Rocket League takes place from Dec. 15 to 19.
