Argentina honour Maradona with huge mural in Buenos Aires just ahead of first World Cup after his death

• Maradona remembered in Argentina
• Giant mural emerges in Buenos Aires
• Argentina aiming for World Cup triumph

WHAT HAPPENED? A new tribute to Maradona has appeared just weeks ahead of the start of the 2022 World Cup which will be the first to be held since the legend's death at the age of 60 in November 2020. The mural, which measures 148 feet by 131 feet, has been painted on the side of a 14-story building in Buenos Aires and is a homage to a player who won the 1986 World Cup and is regarded as one of the greatest to ever grace the game.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Street artist Martin Ron created the mural and spoke about his thinking behind the tribute.

"It’s a photo of Diego when he was close to winning the country’s third star. This photo summarizes everything Diego was," he told the Associated Press. "Beyond the player, he was the guts, the motor, the heart. His absence will be felt, Diego was always a star. In all the World Cups he did his own thing, inside and outside the field. And in Qatar, he will sadly not be there."

WHAT NEXT FOR ARGENTINA? Lionel Scaloni's side are one of the favourites for the World Cup and have been drawn in Group C along with Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and Poland.