"I want the Cup and let no one take it from me," said Tevez, who enjoys a popularity with Argentina's fans akin to that of coach Diego Maradona.
The commitment of the player who, like Maradona rose from a tough Buenos Aires shanty town, shone through with his two-goal performance in the 3-1 second round win over Mexico four days ago.
But Tevez, known by those closest to him as Carlitos, was not sure of his place in Maradona's side until the final build-up to the tournament.
Tevez worked hard to regain Maradona's confidence and was rewarded when the coach came to the conclusion he could not leave him out.
"It's tough to leave Carlitos out," Maradona had said in Buenos Aires before Argentina left for South Africa.
"Diego came to my room one day and told me 'I know you're going to be brilliant'", Tevez told the Argentina Sports daily Ole.
World Player of the Year Messi has yet to get off the mark but Higuain and Tevez have contributed six of Argentina's 10 goals.
"We have players up front who can tip the balance at any time. At a World Cup that's a very important virtue," Tevez said.
"I suffered because of our elimination in that match. We had it won and we lost on penalties," said Tevez, who played from the start in the Berlin quarter-final.
"Every night I go to bed dreaming of being world champion."
