ARGENTINA 3-2 WEST GERMANY

With their inspirational captain Diego Maradona in the form of his life, Argentina were the clear favourites to beat West Germany in the 1986 World Cup final in Mexico City. Maradona had scored twice in both the quarter-final against England and the semi-final against Belgium, and was unquestionably the finest player in the world at the time. West Germany entrusted Lothar Matthäus with the task of man-marking the Argentinian star in the final.

When the match got underway, Matthäus did a fine job of keeping Maradona quiet but Argentina still made a strong start. Midway through the first half, Argentina won a free-kick just outside the penalty area. Jorge Burruchaga played the ball in and José Luis Brown headed the South Americans into the lead. With their European opponents more affected by the heat, Argentina held on to their advantage until half-time.

At the start of the second half, West German coach Franz Beckenbauer brought on substitute Rudi Völler in an attempt to swing the match back in his team's favour. The change initially made no impact, and just eleven minutes into the second half Jorge Valdano slid the ball past German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher to double the Argentinian lead.

In desperation, Beckenbauer made his second substitution, bringing on Dieter Hoeness. Argentina held out until the 74th minute, when Völler flicked on for Karl-Heinz Rummenigge who halved the deficit, brining the Germans back into the match. Suddenly West Germany believed that they had a chance, and the final came alive. With the Germans swarming forwards looking for the equaliser, Argentina were rocking. Maradona had been marked out of the game by a wonderful performance from Matthäus, and had been largely ineffective. With eight minutes remaining, Thomas Berthold flicked on a cross and Völler headed home from point-blank range. West Germany were level.

With all the momentum behind them, many might have expected West Germany to go on and win the match, but Maradona was far too good a player to be kept quiet for ninety minutes. Less than three minutes after Völler's goal, he managed to shake off his marker and play a wonderful through ball to Burruchaga, who placed his shot calmly past Schumacher to restore Argentina's lead. West Germany were devastated, and with their momentum gone were unable to fight back again. The best player in the tournament had led his side to victory, an inspiration to an extent that few other players in history can match.