The ball with which Diego Armando Maradona scored the famous "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has been put up for auction in the United States. The sale, organized by the Texas-based auction house Heritage Auctions from August 21 to 23, starts from a base bid of 2.5 million dollars, with final estimates that could reach or exceed 10 million dollars.

The match was played on June 22, 1986 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, a World Cup quarter-final. It was the first meeting between Argentina and England after the Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982. In the 51st minute of the second half, following an uncertain clearance by the English defense, Maradona jumped and struck the ball with his fist above the head of goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who stood one meter eighty-five tall. The referee did not detect the foul and allowed the goal. A few minutes later, Maradona scored a second goal with a run of roughly sixty meters and eleven touches, later described as the goal of the century.

Maradona himself described the first goal with the phrase that became famous: "A little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God." The ball at auction is an Adidas Azteca model, the first fully synthetic ball in World Cup history, whose design was inspired by Aztec murals and architecture. According to Dan Imler, vice president of the sports division at Heritage Auctions, it is the most historic ball in the world of football.

The sale could surpass the current record for memorabilia linked to Maradona: the number 10 blue jersey worn by the player in that same match was previously sold for 9.3 million dollars.