The World Cup, 40 years after Maradona in Mexico: Two hands and plenty of handouts

On June 22, 1986, Diego Armando Maradona scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

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On June 19, 2026, Miguel Almirón was sent off for putting his hand on his mouth during a match between his team, Paraguay, and Turkey.

Two hands, two different outcomes. The game and the World Cup have changed a lot these past 40 years, but they also remain the same.

On a sunny afternoon in Santa Clara, California, the rebranded Levi’s Stadium, called San Francisco Bay Area Stadium for FIFA’s sake, stands lonely among a sea of empty parking spaces. It is about to welcome the world.

Forty years ago, the mighty Azteca Stadium hosted two nations still reeling from the conflict sparked by a group of islands on the tip of the continent. The two countries couldn’t even agree on a name: the English called them the Falkland Islands, while the Argentines called them the Islas Malvinas.

While the war ended years before, the hostility spread from the stands — with skirmishes among supporters — into the field, when Maradona tricked the referee and the world with the World Cup’s most infamous goal, punching the ball into the net with his fist above England’s goalie Peter Shilton. The Argentine soccer genius would dazzle, scoring again that day, zigzagging between his rivals to put the ball in the net and earn the moniker “Goal of the Century.” The final score was 2-0 and Argentina went on to win the tournament in Mexico.

What’s in a name?

Like a visit to the Taj Mahal in India, or the Grand Canyon in Arizona, it is difficult to convey the experience of witnessing Azteca Stadium during a World Cup game. Pictures and videos don’t do any of these landmarks justice.

Thus, comparing Levi’s Stadium to Azteca is unfair. One has hosted three World Cups, the latter is doing it for the first time. But they do have one recent similarity: Both have temporarily changed their names to host the global soccer tournament.

This past Friday at Levi’s Stadium, the clothing company’s logo was covered with off-white fabric. The brand has embraced the FIFA-forced change so much that it cheekily tweaked its logo on its Instagram page. Still, Levi’s branding was easy to recognize all around the stadium thanks to its distinctive shape. Azteca, now called Banorte Stadium due to a recent marketing deal, is called Mexico City Stadium during the 2026 World Cup.

History will remember that Maradona scored his goals at Azteca Stadium, though.

At 4 p.m. on June 19 in Santa Clara, stadium gates opened to welcome Paraguayan and Turkish fans — mostly clad in red and white. Mexicans in green, black or white official Adidas jerseys, or knockoffs in those and other colors, made up the bulk of fans from other countries beyond the two competing on the day.

Many people wore Messi’s No. 10 jersey in Argentina’s powder blue and white, while others were clad in the U.S. men’s national team’s 1994 denim-colored jersey, Brazilian and Colombian yellow and lots representing popular professional teams, like Barcelona, Boca Juniors, Galatasaray, Manchester United, Club América, Real Madrid (in three colors) and Chivas.

While there were no vuvuzelas, the plastic trumpets that put South Africa on the map during the 2010 World Cup, there was lots of chanting and cheering on site. A marching band banged drums and a DJ played in the far corner. This was a global soccer fest.

While people wandered the so-called fan zones making their way inside the stadium, a young man in his late 20s or early 30s, calling himself Brian from Frisco and dressed in a shiny yellow shirt and black shorts and socks, flashed a referee’s yellow card to people waiting to take a selfie with him. “I’m just a guy,” he said when asked for his full name.

Others lined up around marketing stands along the outskirts of the stadium. When this reporter joined one line and asked a family dressed in Mexico’s green what the line was for, they said they didn’t know. When they figured out that the end featured a Coca-Cola picture panel with the letters “TUR” and “PAR” and “San Francisco Bay Area,” they moved on to the next line, disappointed.

Another Mexican-American family, the Enriquezes from Sonoma, lined up to take their picture with the Coca-Cola background. It took them two hours to get to Levi’s from up north, but they found the experience enjoyable and well organized.

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“After this one, we will line up in another one,” said Ileana Enriquez, who works in human resources for San Francisco County and was there with her brother, Eliot. “If there’s tequila, even better.” Her parents had joined another Coca-Cola-related line to get a free flag, which took about 10 minutes. The soda company had a third line where people could get face paint; a young man was smudging red makeup all over his chest.

Fifteen minutes later, this reporter took a picture of the Enriquez family in front of the panel, and they did the same for him.

“We just want to enjoy the whole experience,” said Wesley Silva, who was there with his two sons and his sister standing in a long and snaking line pointing at Bank of America’s so-called activation. At the end of it was the promise of getting two coveted bead bracelets, which have gone viral and are being sold on eBay for $50 each.

“They don’t play soccer,” Silva said about his two young sons. “But I want them to experience something global.” Silva is a first-grade teacher in Hercules, and many of his students are Latino. “One of my students told me to root for Mexico,” he said.

Even though the weather marked 73 degrees, the sun was blazing. After 25 minutes, a staffer said the Bank of America line would close soon and reopen after the game. Few relented. The same staffer said they expected to give away about 10,000 bracelets, up from 6,000 during the first World Cup game at Levi’s between Qatar and Switzerland on June 13. People could choose two bracelets from seven different styles, including one for each team playing, which changes each game.

Bank of America paid $100 million to be an official World Cup sponsor, according to reports.

At the official FIFA souvenir pop-up store within the stadium grounds, about 150 people lined up. The most popular items? The red-and-white scarf commemorating the match, for $45. Most T-shirt sizes had sold out.

Home Depot and Michelob Ultra had their own activations – or marketing stands. The lines were shorter, but you could take a picture with a colorful background with the names of all 48 teams competing in the World Cup, or with Michelob’s trophy of the match, where this reporter was the 329th person to do so.

Hands to the face, and more handouts

Eventually, Paraguay would take the win with a goal just 63 seconds into the game, even after playing a man down for the whole second half.

The red card to Almirón, who plays for Atlanta United in MLS, was the first given in history for covering his mouth while talking to an opponent, a rule implemented to avoid racial abuse on the field. Almirón’s ejection was confirmed by the Video Assistant Referee. The VAR, first used in Russia 2018, would have also clearly called Maradona’s hand 40 years ago.

The match, in front of 68,827 people, also featured two hydration breaks, which have proved unpopular among fans, and an instance where a player who fell down after a hard tackle had to wait a full minute to get back to the pitch. About two-thirds of the players on the field wore pink cleats, another novelty. The official match ball, the Adidas Trionda, is full of technology and requires charging. These, along with the wide screens and relentless digital advertising along the field, did not exist in 1986.

In the image that went around the world showing Maradona punching the ball, his shoes are shown: They’re black. That day, sitting high above in the stadium, this reporter saw the Argentine’s hand clearly hitting the black and white soccer ball with his hand. Everyone else did, as well.

Levi’s Stadium is set to host three more games during the World Cup: Jordan vs. Algeria on Monday, Paraguay vs. Australia on Thursday, and a round of 32 match featuring the U.S. Men’s National Team on July 1 against a still-unknown third-place finisher.

Two hours after the end of the match between Turkey and Paraguay, the stadium was empty and silent. Right outside, people were walking to their cars, some of them happier with the result than others. Near the parking lot, a big, gray stand was brightly lit and a line of people, some 50 strong, were still lined up to get their two bracelets, a popular handout.

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