Italy-Norway – S. Solbaken: “We could have done better”

Frode GRODAS (1), captain:

“There was very little between the two teams. Gianluca PAGLIUCA (12) did a great save. At the end we could have equalised. We’ve proved that our place in the last sixteen was not wrongfully gained.”

Stig BJORNEBYE (5):

“The Italians were very effective because they had very few chances. The heat was hard to cope with. We had good control of the game in midfield, but we were unrealistic in attack.”

Stale SOLBAKKEN (6):

“We could have done better. It was a difficult match for our forwards as the Italian defence was very effective. At first we didn’t manage to score despite having some good opportunities. For us, to reach the last sixteen was already an achievement, because we are only a small country. We’re still going to celebrate.”

Oyvind LEONHARDSEN (8):

“I wasn’t very impressed by ITALY. They’ll find it hard in the quarter finals. I think that we had some openings but we didn’t take advantage of them. It’s regrettable because we could have won even though ITALY are known for being good at keeping the advantage.

Ole SOLSKJAR (20):

“At this level, it’s difficult to equalise when you’re one goal down. Especially against a team like ITALY who are very experienced in this type of match. When I came on to the pitch for the match against BRAZIL, we won. Today that didn’t work.”