FRANCE 98 – MatchQuotes

Match Number 23 NGA – BGR Quotes

“We felt a lot of pressure during the friendly matches, but since the beginning of the World Cup we have felt very relaxed. The level of football played in Africa is continuing to improve. It’s a great tribute to African football. Regarding my goal, credit has to go to the entire team — it was a team goal. We played a solid match even though things got a bit tight at the end. As to our next few matches, we will try to avoid playing against France — but if we can’t… we’ll see. As for PARAGUAY, we will play to win.”

“I think we were the best team on the pitch. But from a technical standpoint, we failed to score every time we had the chance. We were the better team for 90 minutes. Neither team had the upper hand during the first 45 minutes. The Nigerians scored and in the second half, they had far fewer scoring opportunities. I think that if it had been hotter, that would have had an adverse effect on the Nigerians. It didn’t bother us. Right now, I think the shape our team is in should allow us to beat SPAIN and qualify. We are going all out to win.”

“We had a very tough match against NIGERIA. It was a very physical match. The Nigerians attacked us aggressively in the first half, but we managed to react in the second half. We created many opportunities to score, but, unfortunately, we were unable to put it in the net. We hope that the way we played in the second half will give us an idea of how to go about our next match against SPAIN. But now our chances of getting into the round of 16 look pretty slim.”

Mutiu ADEPOJU (8)

“We won our first two matches, now we’re going to try to win the third. I think that it will be the most important. We’re not looking ahead yet to the round of sixteen. We made some progress after our first match against SPAIN. We were at our best during the first 20 minutes. The Bulgarians did all they could to win. As soon as they came out of the tunnel, they looked fired up, which we expected since we beat them four years ago in the UNITED STATES.”

Celestine BABAYARO (3)

“To win a tournament, you have to win all the matches. That’s what we’re trying to do. I think that BULGARIA played well today, but it wasn’t enough. We put on a good show, I think that most supporters appreciate that. I thought Rasheed YEKINI (9) played very well, even though he’s an old player, he’s always super. I think that the best team in the World Cup is the NETHERLANDS (Group E).”

Sunday OLISEH (15)

“People weren’t expecting much of us at first, but we’re starting to show people what we’re capable of. From a tactical standpoint, I think that Bora (the coach) breathed new life into our team. We still play our game, but he’s taught us to focus on the little things that we too often forget. Our big problem is still that our best players are all strikers. We’re very motivated. PARIS is a wonderful city, but I hope we don’t meet up with the French team any time soon. We’ll try to do just as well in our next match against PARAGUAY.”

FINIDI (7)

“We were really up for this match. Our win against SPAIN gave us confidence and made us stronger against BULGARIA. We have a keen competitive spirit and we’re getting better and better from match to match. We haven’t hit our peak yet. It’s not how many goals we scored, but those three points that really count. Nobody wants to run into one of the top teams in the round of sixteen.”

Augustine EGUAVOEN (17)

“This is fantastic, it’s great! We’re happy, we’ve got our six points. Everything is coming together for us this time. And we even have lots of French supporters behind us.”

Daniel AMOKACHI (14)

“We haven’t the slightest idea who our next opponent will be, but it really doesn’t matter. No one can guarantee the future and we’re going to take each match one at a time. The competition has just begun and we don’t know just how far we can go. Personally, I am very happy because I contributed to the match despite my injured knee. I am proud of my assist. Still, our concentration lapsed in the second half. We’re not afraid of FRANCE, but we don’t want to beat them in the second round because if we do, we’ll have the French fans against us. I want to point out that there is no problem between IKPEBA (20) and myself. We’re not the best of friends, we each have our own style of play.”