FRANCE 98 – England – G. Hoddle: “Paul Scholes has become a key player in the squad”

Glenn HODDLE:

Comments from La Baule-Escoublac (Loire Atlantique)

“Today’s training was just for fun. Tomorrow’s will be the serious one. We’ve got a long road ahead of us and we have to take it one step at a time. Our main goal is to win. Our first victory, against TUNISIA, was a good start to the Cup, but we can’t judge much from one match. It will be easier to assess our potential at the end of the first round. Still, there were some really positive points about that first match, notably Paul SCHOLES’ (16) brilliant performance. He played very well and has become a key player in the squad. Every team has played its first match in this World Cup now, and we’ve seen how high the level is and how fast the matches are. Although there are 32 countries playing, it’s obvious that there is no such thing as an easy match. As for the hooligans, I’m very disappointed at their behaviour. I was really upset by what I saw on TV, especially when some of them burned the Tunisian flag. But I have to stress that the thousands of supporters in the stadium were fantastic.”