From Hand of God to hand in marriage - the couple who met at England's infamous 1986 Argentina match... and have been in love ever since

Published: 12:41, 15 July 2026 | Updated: 12:42, 15 July 2026 The 1986 World Cup quarter-final between England and Argentina is now best known for Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' goal – which saw the Three Lions knocked out of the tournament in Mexico. But another kind of divine intervention was at work for two spectators in the stands at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City that day. Ollie Craxton, then 28, a local government worker from Ealing, west London, had jetted out with a group of primary school friends to watch the match, as well as several others in the contest. Meanwhile, Sofia Larrinua, a then 21-year-old chemistry student from Mexico City, had bagged a last-minute ticket to accompany her pals to the now legendary game. Following a series of incredible coincidences, they were seated next to each other – and the romance of a lifetime soon unfolded, with the pair marrying four years later, before eventually settling in Hackney, east London, where they still live now. The couple returned to the Azteca stadium for the first time earlier this month, to watch England's eventual 3-2 win against Mexico at this year's World Cup. And now, four decades on from the controversial England-Argentina match that brought Ollie and Sofia together, the two nations are set to face each other again, at the semi-final of this year's tournament on Wednesday night. Ahead of the potentially history-making game, Sofia, now 61, sat down with the Daily Mail to tell the couple's amazing story – and offer her thoughts on the upcoming match. Ollie Craxton, then 28, from Ealing, west London, and Sofia Larrinua, then 21, from Mexico City, were seated next to each other at the 1986 Mexico World Cup quarter-final – and the romance of a lifetime soon unfolded. Pictured: Ollie and Sofia at the 1986 match  The pair have now been married nearly 40 years – and returned to the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, where they met, for the first time earlier this month, to watch this year's World Cup. Pictured: Ollie and Sofia on their recent visit to the stadium Now, four decades on from the controversial England-Argentina match that brought Ollie and Sofia together, the two nations are set to face each other again, at the semi-final of this year's tournament on Wednesday night. Pictured: Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal  In 1986, Ollie, now 68, and his friends had decided to take 'a holiday of a lifetime', Sofia said, and head to Mexico to watch several of the World Cup games. But about three weeks before the tournament started, he received the devastating news that the travel agency he had used to buy the trip had scammed him and several other customers, taking their money without actually making any bookings. After selling his brand new car to his dad to make some quick cash and rebook ('he was hoping to impress girls with his car,' Sofia joked), he was thankfully still able to go on part of the holiday – and, crucially, attend the quarter-final. Sofia and her friends, meanwhile, had developed a love for the England team in 1985 when they came to Mexico City for pre-World Cup friendlies against Germany, Italy and Mexico. 'We used to go to hotels to have coffee and breakfast as university students and one day, we were in the lobby of this hotel and suddenly, this group of gorgeous-looking men came over,' she said. 'We go, "Oh my God, it's the Italian football team!" And it wasn't. 'I remember, there was this nice man with this very nice pair of thighs and he had on these very small shorts with three lions on. 'I thought, "What is that?" And then I just made a connection. I thought, "I've seen those before", and then I thought, "Oh my God, it's England!". And those legs belonged to Gary Lineker.' She continued: 'We became like groupies to them. We were just following them. We would go and wait for them and wave at them. 'Bobby Robson was so sweet. He would just wave and say, "Hello, girls!", and he was very kind… We were like the little girls following the Beatles.' It meant she and her pals were delighted to discover the Three Lions were set to play in her native Mexico City at the quarter-final. Sofia, however, was facing a dilemma: she had a university exam the day after the match – so she initially told her friends she would have to miss the game, in order to do some final revision. Eventually, though, her pals convinced her to abandon her pre-exam studies – some of the last of her degree, which she was about to finish – so she could accompany them. But while they had all immediately bought tickets, Sofia's last-minute decision meant she was left without one – and she only ended up snagging one after a serendipitous encounter. 'I drove to the Azteca Stadium and I thought, "Well, I must find somebody on the resale",' she explained – and she soon found someone, inexplicably, reselling their ticket, who came to her 'like an angel'. 'And when I got out of the car, I found this man with a child who came to me and he said, "Would you like to buy my ticket?" And I said, "Yeah, I would." 'So, I bought it on resale for the equivalent of about $5, at the time. It was that easy!' Sofia (pictured), now 61, had developed a love for the England team in 1985 when they came to her native Mexico City for pre-World Cup friendlies – so she was delighted when, the next year, she found out the Three Lions were returning to the city for the actual World Cup  Ollie, now 68, meanwhile had decided to take 'a holiday of a lifetime' with his friends, Sofia said, and head to Mexico to watch several of the World Cup games – including the quarter-final. Pictured: One of the couple's original tickets to the match  Snagging a last-minute ticket to support England at the quarter-final, Sofia (pictured with Ollie) found herself seated next to an Englishman who would go on to be her husband Ollie and Sofia (pictured together more recently) soon got chatting, bonding over their shared love of Manchester United – and a whirlwind holiday romance ensued  After Ollie returned to London, the pair (pictured later, at the London 2012 Olympics) spent the next year calling and writing letters to each other She was also saving up to visit him in the UK, which she did several times over the next few years – and it only saw their love blossom even more, before Ollie proposed in 1989. Pictured: The couple with friends, in an older photograph  They quickly fell in love and were married four years later. Pictured: Ollie and Sofia's wedding day  'We have so many things in common. We like travelling and music and we like doing things. We have had a very active life,' said Sofia (pictured with Ollie on their wedding day)  She said she soon headed for her seat: 'I came to this section where I was surrounded by Argentinian supporters and I had an England T-shirt on. 'At the time, it was very soon after the Falklands War had finished so there was a lot of animosity between Argentinians and English people so I felt very unsafe and wanted to move.' Again, serendipity served: a stranger offered to swap their ticket with hers so she could sit with her friends in the English end of the stadium. When they arrived, Sofia saw they would be sat next to a group of young Englishmen, including Ollie, who was also not sitting in his ticketed seat, having moved to join the English end too. Sofia recalls: 'I looked at this Englishman smiling at us and at the time, I felt very self-conscious – I was only 21, I was very shy and so I thought, "Oh I'm not going to sit next to these guys".' The girls tried sitting in two other sets of seats to avoid the men but were both times eventually kicked out when the original ticketholders arrived to claim their spots. With the match about to start and only one space in the stands left, they eventually resolved to sit next to the smiling Englishman – a decision that would change Ollie and Sofia's lives forever. She later found out the reason for his grinning: 'He saw these three Mexican girls wearing England T-shirts and he thought, "Oh my God, that's nice. '"There are some nice Mexican girls here and they're young and it would be nice to chat to them".' Ollie and Sofia quickly got chatting, bonding over their shared love of Manchester United – and he soon won her admiration for looking out for the girls among the rowdy crowds. 'The English fans had put up flags on the fences but at the time of the national anthems, the Argentinians started burning the English flags,' Sofia explained. 'The English people got very upset and there was a bit of a brawl. But before all this, Ollie said to me, "If there is a problem, don't worry, I'll protect you". 'At the time, he was a very skinny young man and I thought, "Yeah, protect me? I don't think so!" 'Then, when the brawl started, everybody moved but Ollie stayed there trying to protect us. I thought, "Oh my God, that's really nice".' The pair enjoyed the now iconic quarter-final together, which saw Maradona accused of illegally using his left hand to score the 'Hand of God' goal. Only four minutes later, he then also scored the 'Goal of the Century', having dashed some 60 yards down the field, taking Argentina to their eventual 2-1 victory over England. 'We didn't have children because we were so happy doing nice things! We bypassed that,' added Sofia (pictured with Ollie more recently) Ollie has now retired from his career in local government and Sofia is semi-retired from her career as a food anthropologist, now spending much of her time on art and textiles  But in the nearly four decades – and counting – they have spent together, they have never had a chance to return to the Azteca stadium This year's World Cup, however, hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, offered the perfect opportunity. Pictured: Ollie and Sofia at England's round of 16 match against Mexico earlier this month  And just as they did on the day the couple (pictured) met, England are now set to face off Argentina again, at the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday night 'I don't want to say it but I've got a feeling that England is going to win this because they have got a very good team,' said Sofia  This time, Ollie and Sofia are set to watch the Three Lions battle Argentina not from the Azteca stadium – but from their local working men's club in north London. Pictured: A newspaper clipping marking their 20th wedding anniversary  Sofia said: 'He plainly cheated. He scored with his hand and we saw that – we were at the top. We saw the whole thing and the referee didn't see it and so that was very upsetting.' After the final whistle, she offered to show Ollie and his friends around Mexico City, before eventually going to have drinks together at their hotel. The pair soon embarked on a holiday romance, as did one of her friends and one of his – but while the others' relationship ended after three months, Ollie and Sofia kept theirs going. After he returned to London, the pair spent the next year calling and writing letters to each other: 'The telephone bills were really expensive – it was a very, very expensive rate to call Mexico.' She was also saving up to visit him in the UK, which she did several times over the next few years – and it only saw their love blossom even more. Ollie proposed in 1989 on top of the historic Teotihuacán pyramids, near Mexico City. Sofia said: 'I didn't want to climb it and Ollie kept saying, "You'll want to climb this, it's going to be worth your while!"' The pair were married a year later, she said: 'We have so many things in common. We like travelling and music and we like doing things. We have had a very active life. 'We have been to many parts of the world and many nice things together, like Wimbledon and Glastonbury and all kinds of things. We were very happy doing these things. 'We didn't have children because we were so happy doing nice things! We bypassed that.' Ollie has now retired from his career in local government and Sofia is semi-retired from her career as a food anthropologist, now spending much of her time on art and textiles. 'We're just enjoying this second part of our lives,' she said. But in the nearly four decades – and counting – they have spent together, they have never had a chance to return to the Azteca stadium. This year's World Cup, however, hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico, offered the perfect opportunity. The couple went to England's round of 16 match against Mexico at the arena on July 5, wearing the T-shirts they had on – as well as the cap Sofia was wearing, and later gifted to Ollie – when they met in those very same stands. And just as they did on that fateful day, England are now set to face off Argentina again, at the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday night. Sofia said: 'I don't want to say it but I've got a feeling that England is going to win this because they have got a very good team. 'I'm just hoping there won't be anything controversial, red cards or anything silly like that. It's just amazing and magical they're meeting again – and hopefully this time, it will be a better result.' This time, Ollie and Sofia are set to watch the Three Lions battle Argentina not from the Azteca stadium – but from their local working men's club in north London.