Carlos Tevez made his scoring bow in Argentina's fourth win of the tournament when they beat Mexico 3-1 in the second round on Sunday and Gonzalo Higuain took his tally to four, making him top scorer at the finals so far.
"I needed a match like this to restate that I'm in form, that I have hunger for glory with this shirt," said Tevez after an opening goal that appeared to be offside and a sublime 25-metre drive that effectively ended Mexican hopes.
Coach Diego Maradona put out what he called his 'gala team' and he will be looking to do the same against Germany in Cape Town for Saturday's quarter-final though that may imply changes.
"We have to try to find the best team, the 'gala team' to play against Germany," he said of the nation he faced as captain in successive finals, winning in 1986 but losing four years later.
Argentina's goals-to-chances ratio, however, makes up for some deficiencies in defence where left back Gabriel Heinze twice came to the rescue clearing Mexican efforts off the line.
"I didn't like giving the ball (to Mexico) so much in the second half when they don't have the skill we have," Maradona said at the post-match news conference.
"If we'd grabbed the ball the match would have been more tranquil and we could have increased the score."
Germany's young side showed against England how quickly they can break on the counter-attack and Maradona knows Argentina's midfield will therefore have to concentrate more on protecting the defence if his team are to reach the semi-finals.
