The Match
A documentary about the legendary 1986 World Cup quarter-final between Argentina and England. The ‘Hand of God’ is featured, but ultimately the film is less about football than about sport as a source of pride, trauma and reconciliation.
Veertig jaar na een van de meest memorabele WK-wedstrijden aller tijden blikken betrokkenen terug op de diepgewortelde historische rivaliteit, waarin de schoonheid van het voetbal botst met de absurditeit van oorlog.
The Match tells the story of the iconic football match played at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. Using rare archival footage, the film reconstructs that event as a living memory but also as the culmination of more than two hundred years of tension, encounters, and conflict between the two nations.
The VAR didn’t exist back then. So Diego Maradona took matters into his own hands. First, the whole world watched him score with the help of his ‘Hand of God’. A few minutes later, we saw Maradona score again, after an unrivalled solo run that went down in history as the ‘Goal of the Century’. Argentina won 2–1 and England were knocked out of the tournament.
From the earliest moments of contact and dispute to the Falklands War as a direct precursor, the film traces a historical journey that reframes what happened on the pitch. In doing so, it subtly contrasts the beauty of football with the lingering absurdity of war, allowing the echoes of both to resonate into the present day.