HAVANA, June 8: Diego Maradona accepted England’s 1-0 World Cup victory over Argentina philosophically on Friday, saying defeat had to come one day.

“The English won. They had to beat us once. I’m sorry for the people of my country,” Maradona told Reuters Television.

But Maradona, who captained Argentina to World Cup triumph in 1986 when he scored the infamous “Hand of God” goal against England, said Argentina had a fine team that would fight on.

“They are always close to something great and Argentina is a team with history,” he said.

Maradona is not at the World Cup because Japan initially denied him a visa due to his history of drug abuse, though Japanese media reported on Friday he would be allowed to enter the country after all.

England beat Argentina in Sapporo with a penalty from captain David Beckham, extracting sweet revenge for their elimination in France ‘98 where Beckham was sent off.

Maradona said he would not have substituted striker Gabriel Batistuta in the second half of Friday’s game as the Argentines battled in vain for an equaliser.—Reuters