Argentine coach Diego Maradona said Monday that his team have both the hope and desire to lift the World Cup in South Africa this year.

If they do so, it will be a 24-year-old curse broken. In 1986, Maradona inspired his country to the World Cup in Mexico and Argentina, having lost to West Germany in the 1990 final, have not won the tournament since.

?Argentina's national soccer coach Diego Maradona reacts during their friendly soccer match against Spain at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid, November 14, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

"We hope to get as far as possible. We know we are not the favorites but we have a great desire," Maradona told reporters during an inspection of his team's base at the University of Pretoria.

"We want to break the curse after 24 years that we have not been given (the World Cup). The desire never goes away. The hope never goes away."

Maradona just completed a two-month FIFA ban on Friday for making lewd comments to reporters in Montevideo after Argentina qualified for the tournament.