Maradona Sent Home from 1994 World Cup for Failing Drug Test

Former finalist Argentina were looking to extend their success from the previous two World Cups.

Alas, their star Diego Maradona got suspended right after Argentina's victory over Nigeria as he failed a doping test. Bulgaria capitalized on this and managed to advance regardless of losing to Nigeria in their first match. The sensational comeback of the Bulgarian squad, especially the work rate of Stoichkov and Balakov, was more than Greece and Argentina could handle. At that time the South Americans were also trying to recover from Maradona's suspension.

At the age of 33 his star was fading, yet Diego Maradona still made a massive impact on the 1994 World Cup, even if it was for the wrong reasons. He only played in two games, before he was sent home from the USA hosted tournament in disgrace. The pint-sized genius failed a drug test following Argentina's match with Nigeria. He would later blame the positive result on an energy drink, but the incident brought an end to his love affair with the competition. Post tournament, many people pointed to his celebration after scoring against Greece as evidence of his drug abuse.