FRANCE 98 – MatchQuotes

Match Number 24 ESP – PAR Quotes

” PARAGUAY is an extraordinary team as they close all the gaps. They’re not really nice to watch, but they’re terribly efficient. You could call PARAGUAY a dangerous team, which could well qualify for the second round. If we beat BULGARIA, we’ll have a better chance of qualifying. From the first round every match is a knock out. The match against BULGARIA doesn’t only depend on arithmetics. It essentially depends on the work that we’ll do to prepare ourselves for it. PARAGUAY pulled out all it’s stops tonight, now we’ve got to do the same to win. I think that luck will go our way. The players are a bit disappointed but we’ll do out utmost against BULGARIA. “.

Francisco ARCE (2)

“We had few opportunities to score but we played very well against SPAIN who played just an average game. We’ve got to get a victory to qualify. NIGERIA is a good team so it’ll be up to us to show what we’re made of.”

Ricardo ROJAS (14)

“We’re satisfied with a draw. We still have good hopes of qualifying. SPAIN deserved to win because they played better than we did. NIGERIA is a tough team, they have fast and nippy players, but we’re confident. I believe in my team. It’s a positive result. We have a good chance of getting through to the second round.”

Celso AYALA (5)

“It was a very good match. I was under the weather. It doesn’t really matter which team we play next; I’ve no preferences.”

Jose Luis CHILAVERT (1)

“SPAIN is a good team but we played very well. Today, we played as if we were in the finals. We got on top of the Spanish attackers. I’ve always said that our defence is the best in the world but we had a few gaps in our attack. It’s now up to us to make the most of our opportunities. PARAGUAY depends on PARAGUAY. NIGERIA is a tough team but we’ll do our utmost to beat them. Getting to the second round would be the greatest thing in my career.”

Carlos GAMARRA (4)

“It was a truly genuine and technical game. Despite the draw we’re very proud of ourselves. The Spanish team was very strong. We did our utmost.”

Andoni ZUBIZARRETA (1), captain and goal keeper

” PARAGUAY is an excellent team but SPAIN did have a lot more opportunities to score. In fact, the match was very balanced with two very talented teams. On Wednesday there is only one thing to do and that is to win the match. I hope that luck will be on our side for the glory of our country.”

ABELARDO (5)

“We didn’t have much luck in this match. The draw could qualify us for the second round but it will depend on the result of the other teams. The fight goes on and we mustn’t lose hope. The match against BULGARIA will be a real final. Sooner or later our luck will look up which we hope will be sooner rather than later. We missed a lot of opportunities but PARAGUAY defended well.”

Fernando HIERRO (6)

“

We have a chance of getting through. We’ll have to do everything to make it.”

Francisco MORIENTES (7)

“Now we’re depending on the other results, even if we win against  BULGARIA. Today was mission impossible due to the very tight defence of PARAGUAY. We had a lot of good opportunities but we were too slow against them. Our defence was fragile. We were very unlucky.”

PIZZI (9)

” We weren’t lucky in this match. We attacked, we fought but we didn’t manage to score. We weren’t really efficient. We can still improve. We absolutely had to win this match but qualifying now doesn’t just depend on us.”

RAUL (10)

“We could still make it to the second round. The team put up a good fight but we ran out of luck. Our three attackers did everything possible to try to score. PARAGUAY were really tight in defence. We have to go on with the same will to win against BULGARIA and hope that PARAGUAY don’t beat NIGERIA. We’re optimistic for the rest of the competition.”

ETXEBERRIA (17)

“We hope that PARAGUAY don’t beat NIGERIA. We have reduced our chances of qualifying. We’ll play our best but it doesn’t just depend on us, To be knocked out would be a real shame.”

 KIKO (19)

“It was very difficult to play against a team using defence tactics. On the strikes there was always an arm or a leg in the way. When luck doesn’t shine the result is a goalless draw. It’ll be difficult and qualification is no longer in our hands. We didn’t have any more luck against NIGERIA and we played a hard match today. Our result had nothing to do with the choice of players. Saying the opposite would only be dishonest. We didn’t really get a lot of chances to score against CHILAVERT, the goalkeeper, and PARAGUAY is a very hard fighting team with an excellent defence.”

 Luis ENRIQUE (21)

“We need three points to qualify

. The Paraguayan defence was very solid. I feel good and quite confident. We have to carry on the fight and above all win against BULGARIA.”

Javier CLEMENTE :

“We’re not out of the running yet!…We still have a good chance of making it to the last 16 and we will give it our all straight through to the finish. Up until now, Lady Luck hasn’t really been on our side, but we will fight hard to turn things around. It’s true that now we’re also relying on the result of the match between NIGERIA and PARAGUAY. But for us the main thing is to play a good match against BULGARIA, a team we know well…(Wednesday 24 June at LENS). The Paraguayans, on the other hand, will have to change their strategy against the Nigerians, a draw won’t be enough, they need to open up their game and not just play their defence. We have been told that this group is a killer, I’d say instead that it’s a group that can knock you off your feet. But we aren’t going to cry about it, we need to keep our strength so we can fight. As long as there is life, there is hope and I know I can count on my players to react at the right moment.”