Mac Allister Wants to Repeat Maradona's Feat Against England

Argentina's midfielder Alexis Mac Allister acknowledged the immense historical weight of facing England in the World Cup, a matchup that inevitably brings to mind their iconic 1986 quarterfinal clash where Diego Maradona scored two legendary goals.

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Inspiring oneself from what Diego did is complicated, perhaps only Leo (Messi) can do what he did on the field.

When asked about replicating Maradona's feat, Mac Allister admitted, "Inspiring oneself from what Diego did is complicated, perhaps only Leo (Messi) can do what he did on the field." He noted that videos from the 1986 tournament are circulating, offering inspiration for the current squad.

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These days videos from '86 start appearing that obviously help us. It's a very important flag for the country and hopefully we can do something similar to what they achieved.

Mac Allister emphasized the team's approach to the high-stakes match. "We take it as a World Cup semifinal, we understand what's behind it and we can't change it," he said. "What we can do is defend our jersey and our country in the best way on the field, which is what we have always done and want to do again."

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We take it as a football match, a World Cup semifinal, obviously we understand everything that is behind it and the history but we can't change it, what we can do is defend our jersey and our country in the best way on the field, which is what we have always done and want to do again.

Despite the emotional context, Mac Allister stressed the importance of focusing on the game itself. He also mentioned that the team's experience from the previous World Cup could be an advantage. "We don't feel pressure, we understand that it's the World Cup, that we're playing a semifinal, and we have the experience of playing last time, so hopefully that helps," he concluded, while acknowledging England as a strong opponent.

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We don't feel pressure, we understand that it's the World Cup, that we're playing a semifinal, and we have the experience of playing last time, so hopefully that helps, but it will be a difficult match because they have a great team, we respect them a lot.