FRANCE 98 – MatchQuotes

Match Number 22 RSA – DEN Quotes

Philippe TROUSSIER

If the main objective is to score goals, I’m not satisfied. But if we look at the way the team played, I think that they met my expectations. We cannot compare the two matches because the French team was really better. Today, we had more space to play and our game was better. The first 20 minutes were very hard for us because we were not in the game, but in the last 45 minutes we really wanted to win the game, and I saw a really good South African team and we were much better. Many things have happened during this game and the scenario changed a lot, but the expulsion of Alfred PHIRI (8) was unfortunate because it came at a crucial moment in the game, there was a lot of pressure. We are very confident for the next match against SAUDI ARABIA. If FRANCE beat DENMARK 2 – 0, and if we beat SAUDI ARABIA 2 – 0, I think we can still be in the race.

Bo JOHANSSON

“We had a good start and played very good football for the first 15 to 20 minutes. We didn’t play the rest well, so we have to accept the score. We must admit it was a strange game. We don’t know our situation for the future before we see the result of tonight’s match between FRANCE and SAUDI ARABIA. We looked confident, and that was very positive. At the start, we could have scored four or five goals but I wasn’t afraid when we didn’t score immediately. That’s football. I hope you’ll remember this game in the future. We had a lot of problems on the left side in defence, that’s why I changed Michael LAUDRUP (10). You have all seen what happened so I can’t say any more about this game. I just want to say, remember this game in the future, if you want to know how a football game is played.”

Peter MOLLER (18)

“It was an unfortunate result. I don’t understand why we didn’t keep our 1 – 0 lead. We could already have qualified. This is the first time in my career I’ve seen that kind of refereeing. It’s outrageous. But we’re very confident for the rest of the competition.”

Allan NIELSEN (7)

“It was a very intense match. We started off well but then we slacked off, letting the South Africans take the upper hand on numerous one-to-one encounters. The change came about shortly after I scored the goal. The phase of play was perfect and I was in my favourite position. But the rest of the match is another story. The game got strange. There were an enormous number of bookings, too many in my opinion; but it’s the referee who decides. Basically, this match puts us into a position where nothing is certain but we do have an edge for the last first-round game.”

Morten WIEGHORST (14)

“I’m very disappointed. I had only played for two minutes when the referee showed me a red card. I didn’t think I had touched the player and when I looked up and saw the red card, I didn’t understand what was happening. But the result was well deserved. The DENMARK team is going to have a hard time after this. But I think we’ll do fine. Everything depends on tonight’s game where the French will probably come up winners.”

Lucas RADEBE (19): captain of the South African team

“It’s the first World Cup for everyone and we knew it was going to be difficult. Today we played better than in our first match. We played aggressively. I think it’s still possible to get through the first round after the match against SAUDIA ARABIA.”

David NYATHI (3)

“The team played very well today. Unfortunately I had a bad game. I was alone on the left wing during the first half. But we still have a chance to qualify, it all depends on the next match.”

John MOSHOEU (10)

“We didn’t give a very good performance, but we are proud of what we did. It felt like a final for us. We were playing for our pride. Even if the score was a 1 – 1 draw, we consider that we won.”

Hans VONK (1)

“In the first twenty minutes, we were under too much pressure, but after that I think we played well. I’m happy with the first point and the first goal for SOUTH AFRICA in the World Cup. Before the match, we knew we would have to win to maximise our chances of qualifying for the second round. But a draw is not enough because, not only must we play extremely well against SAUDIA ARABIA, but we also have to keep an eye on FRANCE.”