EXCLUSIVE
HONOUR
‘Just to be on the pitch with him was special’ – England legend John Barnes reveals it was an honour to play against Diego Maradona as he declares World Cup in Qatar will be a ‘fantastic tournament’
John Barnes has declared it was 'special' to play against Diego Maradona... despite the Argentina legend knocking England out of the 1986 World Cup.
The ex-Three Lions star came on as a second half substitute in the quarter-final clash against the South American nation.
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Barnes made an instant impact just seven minutes after coming on with Gary Lineker turning in his cross to pull a goal back for Bobby Robson's side.
But the 1966 champions were unable to find an equaliser as Maradona's double proved to be the difference, with Argentina going on to win the global tournament.
Maradona opened the scoring in the 51st minute with his infamous 'Hand of God' goal after punching the ball over the onrushing Peter Shilton.
The second, which came moments after, remains one of the greatest goals ever scored as he dribbled past five players before poking the ball home into an empty net.
And Barnes revealed how it was an honour to share the same pitch as the late Maradona, who passed away at the age of 60 in 2020.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT on behalf of , Barnes said: "It was special to be on the pitch with Diego Maradona.
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"He's one of my favourite players of all time. And he's fantastic, he's iconic.
"So even though I came on for the last 15 minutes, just to be on the pitch with him was special.
"But of course, as a young boy growing up in Jamaica it's no different for me than any young boy growing up in England, or Sierra Leone, or Paraguay.
"We love the World Cup. And you want to play in a World Cup. Fortunately, I was able to do that.
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"But it wouldn't be any different for me than even for Diego Maradona as a young boy growing up and thinking he could play in the World Cup or watch them playing in the World Cup, because it's such an iconic and special moment.
"And it rarely supersedes anything, even in terms of where it's going to be."
There have been fears that the World Cup in Qatar may not live up to standards, but Barnes has insisted it will be a 'fantastic tournament'.
He remarked: "The fact that it's in Qatar means as much as if it was in England in '66, or in Argentina in '78, or Spain in '82.
"I remember when it went to one of the so-called unfancied venues, for example South Africa, when they thought 'how is it going to be in South Africa, it should be in a European or a South American country', and it was a fantastic World Cup.
"As it was in Korea and Japan. So, I have no fears about it being a fantastic tournament, because regardless of anything else it is the World Cup.
"And what it engenders in people once the matches start is that these are the greatest players in the world, and the greatest teams in the world, playing on a football pitch, regardless of where it is."
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Argentina haven't won the World Cup since 1986, with Lionel Scaloni's side going into Qatar as one of the favourites having gone 36 games without defeat.
And Barnes has backed skipper Lionel Messi to win the Golden Boot ahead of the likes of Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe in what could be the 35-year-old's last World Cup.
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