FRANCE 98 – South Africa vs Denmark – Ph. Troussier comments on the quarter finals
Comments from TOULOUSE
On the day before the game against DENMARK (Group C) on Thursday 18th June at 5.30 pm at the TOULOUSE Stadium, the SOUTH AFRICA (Group C) coach, Philippe TROUSSIER became aggressive during a press call at the end of a closed training session :
“If we manage to play like we did against France and in the same spirit, then it’ll be a great match tomorrow. If we get through to the second round, we’ll probably be playing NIGERIA (Group D) and I think we’re capable of reaching the quarter finals. I’m convinced that my team will get stronger and stronger as it goes along. I’ve always said that the match against DENMARK was our most important one. The game against France was a preparation match. For us, tomorrow is the real beginning of the World Cup. We have our backs to the wall but we’re sure we can make it. Apart from France, there are three teams and only one place. Whatever the result, we want it to be a big surprise. We’re outsiders and our players will have more freedom than they did in the first match; I’m excepting them to rise to the occasion. The moral of the team has greatly improved because we weren’t surprised by our result against FRANCE. Details really count in football, the match against DENMARK is worth a lot more than getting back into the race : if we win tomorrow, we can get through to the quarter finals!”