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Rank 01—No changeEditor’s pick
#1 in Greatest World Cup Performances
of 15 ranked entries
Diego Maradona
Soccer · Argentina · 1976–1997
Carried an otherwise ordinary Argentina side to the 1986 World Cup virtually alone, scoring the “Hand of God” and the “Goal of the Century” in the same match. Peak for peak, no one has taken over a tournament quite so completely. Recorded specifics: sport Soccer, active from 1976, major titles 1. Panel highlighted single-handedly dragged a modest 1986 squad to the World Cup, scored the most replayed solo goal in the sport’s history and turned Napoli into first-time Serie A champions. The reservation on record is a cocaine ban and later health struggles cut his prime short.
Soccer
Score breakdown
How Diego Maradona earned 96.7
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Greatest World Cup Performances.
- Tournament-defining impactweight 30%
- 98.9
- Goals & outputweight 25%
- 97.5
- Degree of difficultyweight 25%
- 95.4
- Legacy of the performanceweight 20%
- 94.0
On the record
Recorded detail
| Sport | Soccer |
|---|---|
| Active from | 1976 |
| Major titles | 1 |
| GOAT score | 9.2 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Single-handedly dragged a modest 1986 squad to the World Cup
- Scored the most replayed solo goal in the sport’s history
- Turned Napoli into first-time Serie A champions
Where it gives ground
- A cocaine ban and later health struggles cut his prime short
3 appearances
Where this entry ranks
- Rank 01Greatest World Cup Performances of All Time15 entries · refreshed quarterly96.7/100 Top 49 score—No change
- Rank 02Top 49 Footballers of All Time20 entries · refreshed quarterly93.4/100 Top 49 score1Up 1
- Rank 09Top 49 Athletes of All Time20 entries · refreshed quarterly85.7/100 Top 49 score2Up 2
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Top 49 rankings are editorial. Scores are produced from the published criteria on each list and are refreshed on the cadence stated there. Figures shown across this section are curated demonstration data.