When I took my first television work with ITV at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, I never imagined I would attend a game that would be an iconic “I was there” day. England against Argentina at the Azteca Stadium in front of 114,000 people featured, thanks to Diego Maradona, first the most controversial goal in World Cup history, then the best I have seen live.

The match was unforgettable and even the buildup sticks in the memory. The traffic in Mexico City was bumper to bumper, it took ages to travel short distances and if you were unlucky you would meet one of the corrupt local policemen who would challenge the driver and expect small recompense.

The crowd was in place long before kick-off and the continual hissing and humming noise they made sounded like a huge nest of bees. Martin Tyler, ITV’s commentator, and I had to climb high to the gantry for our commentary position.

England had won at the Azteca a few days earlier against Paraguay and we had a team with a strong spine: Peter Shilton in goal, Terry Butcher at centre-back, Glenn Hoddle in midfield and Gary Lineker up front. Our two quality wingers, Chris Waddle and John Barnes, were finding it difficult to secure a place in the team.

With the game at altitude, I feared we were a bit light on midfield recovery speed. When you play in those conditions the biggest challenge is recovery runs. If you make a surging run it is difficult to recover quickly. In these conditions you have to make the ball do the work.

England held their own in the first half but early in the second came those famous Maradona moments. For the “Hand of God” goal the majority view is that he did it intentionally but in my opinion Maradona, wary of being thumped in the head by the onrushing Shilton, who was a little slow off his line, raised his arm and the ball struck his hand and nestled in the net. After seeing no linesman’s flag and hearing no referee’s whistle, he happily took the glory for a clear piece of cheating.

Straight away England players raced towards the referee, Ali Ben Nasser, to protest. The Tunisian never refereed another World Cup game but he did get the ball and took it home as a souvenir.

Minutes after Maradona’s first goal he scored a magnificent second, twisting and turning in mesmerising fashion past Reid and Peter Beardsley, then Butcher and Terry Fenwick before placing the ball past Shilton. There could be no protests this time. It was one of the finest goals of all time and the best I have seen live, ahead of Gareth Bale’s overhead kick for Real Madrid against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final and Son Heung-min’s run from just outside his own box against Burnley.

Bobby Robson brought on Waddle and Barnes and hopes flickered when a superb Barnes cross was headed in by Lineker but England were out and angry. Bobby, usually so polite, marched to the referee and clearly lost his temper in a post-match interview. For me, the game also included my most embarrassing faux pas, when Maradona, from the byline, clipped to the back post. I said: “Maradona gets amazing elevation on his balls from the tightest of angles.”

It is interesting to see the teams who were with Argentina and England in the quarter-finals: Brazil, Mexico and the European heavyweights Spain, Belgium, France and West Germany. We don’t know yet whether any African teams will make the last eight of this World Cup but without doubt their quality has gone up enormously in the past 40 years.

Other changes stand out. The English TV crew in 1986 stayed in the same complex as the team in Saltillo, about an hour’s drive from Monterrey, which would never happen now. We were seeing the players on a daily basis when they had their leisure time by the pool and could watch them train.

Also, the squad did not have the facilities or setup they do now, with beautiful pitches, world-class food and great pampering. I remember some of the England players who enjoyed the racing scene arranged for the ITV television people to fix up a feed of the Derby between their first two matches. Several of them also got videos of US races and were betting.

Initially it did not look as if England would be in Mexico for long. They started nervously and shakily, losing to Portugal and drawing against Morocco and I remember the English press corps were anticipating a quick return home. At a sponsor’s reception after the second match they were receiving their freebies and enjoying plenty to drink, thinking the trip was nearly done.

Fortunately Bobby and Don Howe, his highly regarded right-hand man, changed the tactics and formation for the next game against Poland. It has often been said it was the players who helped bring that about. Whoever was behind it, Lineker became entrenched in people’s memories by getting a hat-trick in a 3-0 win.

Then came Paraguay and confidence rose but thanks to Maradona there was to be no England semi-final. I hope this team can return to the Azteca, defeat Mexico and put the ghost of Maradona to bed.