FRANCE 98 – France-Denmark – P. Schmeichel: “The France team is one of the best that I have played against for a long time”
France-Denmark – P. Schmeichel: “The France team is one of the best that I have played against for a long time” 24.06.98 19h24 CET Thomas HELVEG (6):
“We didn’t play well today. The French kept possession of the ball from us. It’s a very strong team, especially at the back with Marcel DESAILLY (8), Christian KAREMBEU (19) and also Youri DJORKAEFF (6). I think they will go far in the competition. It’s my 27th birthday today; the qualification for the last 16 is a superb present. We are expecting a very hard match on Sunday 28 June at the Stade de France against NIGERIA (Group D) who were very impressive in their first two matches. They are a very skilful team. The fact that we are going to play at 21h00, will be an advantage for us because today I found it very difficult to play in the heat.”
Peter SCHMEICHEL (1):
“The FRANCE team is one of the best that I have played against for a long time. They controlled the game for the most part and they know how to keep possession of the ball. It’s a difficult team to destabilise. We now move into another tournament. I’ve got nothing in particular to say about the NIGERIA (Group D) team because from now on all the matches are crucial and therefore difficult to call.”
Brian LAUDRUP (11):
“The FRANCE team played very well and I must admit that they are one of the best sides in the world. As far as we’re concerned, we played very well considering the great importance of this match. But we are happy about our qualification and exhausted from the heat. After we came back to one all, we played for the draw in vain in the second half. Personally, I suffered having to play on my own up front against two great players.”
Michael LAUDRUP (10):
“We did what had to be done, we’re going to meet NIGERIA (Group D) on Sunday 28 June. They are a very good team that we don’t know very well. As far as today’s game is concerned, we played well and, as a result, we equalised. Afterwards, we showed our skills although we should have won more possession to develop our game. FRANCE (Group C) are a skilful team who keep hold of the ball. We can expect to see the same against NIGERIA.
