Argentina's coach Lionel Scaloni is unfazed by potential fatigue as the reigning World Cup champions prepare to face England in a highly anticipated semifinal on Wednesday. Scaloni stated his team is "in good shape" and eager to compete for a spot in consecutive finals.

The match carries significant historical weight, evoking memories of the 1986 World Cup encounter between the two nations, which featured Diego Maradona's iconic "Hand of God" goal and a subsequent brilliant individual strike. The fixture also touches upon the lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands.

Scaloni highlighted the team's resilience, acknowledging their challenging path to the semifinals, which included extra-time victories. He emphasized his gratitude to the players for reaching this stage again, stating that he would have readily accepted a semifinal berth months prior and is not concerned about the team's condition.

Argentina, featuring a squad led by the veteran Lionel Messi, has overcome tough knockout-round matches. They secured a 3-2 extra-time win against Cape Verde, came from behind to defeat Egypt 3-2, and required another 30 minutes of play to overcome 10-man Switzerland 3-1.

Reflecting on the 1986 match, Scaloni recalled Maradona's memorable performance, particularly his second goal, which he described as a "marvellous goal" remembered by all football enthusiasts. However, he also stressed the importance of focusing on the present football match and avoiding the conflation of sports with past political events.

Scaloni has made efforts to de-politicize the upcoming game, stating that it is fundamentally a football match and that past historical events, while acknowledged as a "sad time in our history," should not be mixed with the current sporting contest.

The Argentine coach recognized the formidable challenge posed by England's key players, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, who have been instrumental in their team's scoring, contributing 12 of their 13 goals in the tournament.

Scaloni indicated that his team is continuously looking for areas to improve and strategize on how to counter England's strengths, but specific details on these plans were not elaborated upon during the press conference.