FRANCE 98 – MatchQuotes

Match Number 40 RSA – KSA Quotes

PHILIPPE TROUSSIER :

“The match today was a good performance. We now end our World Cup here in BORDEAUX with just 2 points. We could have done better. Being in charge of the team, I would say it has been a very average tournament for us. Above all I am disappointed by the way we have obtained these two points. For now, we must learn our lessons from this experience, on both a technical and a human level, above all from the preparatory phase. By bearing these lessons in mind, we’ll be better upon our return. We have talent, OK, but when there’s no will, no courage, no spirit, we cannot go too far. I’ve never felt that the lads were all striving for the same objectives nor seen any of those little things that together create true team spirit. We can say that quite simply we’ve taken part in this World Cup. My immediate plans are to get some rest. You know when you take on a project like this, you put everything you’ve got into it, you try to breathe a little life into things, you give a lot of yourself.”

Mohammed AL DEAYA (1), captain

“We are happy with this result which we achieved thanks to a change in tactics which helped us to play better. Having said that, the result doesn’t interest us at all. Above all we are pleased for the Saudi people and our supporters because we have been able to show how good Saudi football really is. Our squad has 22 excellent players. I thank God and all those who taught me to play, for my personal performance. If now a European club is interested in me, I will be happy to study their offers.”

Abdullah ZUBROMAWI (4)

“It’s never pleasant when you lose points in the last minute but, anyway, we didn’t have any chance of qualifying. We were more interested in the game we played and how we played it. Whether we drew, lost or won, we couldn’t have qualified but our performance in this match was good and we played better than in the last two matches.” (Lost to DENMARK and FRANCE).

Mohammed AL KHARASHI, SAUDI ARABIA (Group C) team coach

“This afternoon, we witnessed a very competitive match, with some good play and attacking moves from both sides. Both teams really wanted to win. SOUTH AFRICA could still have qualified if they’d had a good result. We didn’t want to go home following three defeats. We wanted the Saudi people to be proud of us. The result is good for the team, even though, prior to the competition, we thought we could qualify for the second round, as we did in 1994. Many things have happened in between times. On the subject of today’s match, we conceded a goal, came back well, went ahead, but SOUTH AFRICA managed to equalize after a mistake by the referee. It was however a good demonstration of our footballing qualities, and we will be back in four years, with all the help and the trust of our country’s leaders”.

Lucas RADEBE (19), captain

“At the start of the match we knew we had to get the three points for the win, and were counting on FRANCE to beat DENMARK. The French held their part of the bargain, we did not. But you cannot say that we lack experience, as the South African press has alleged. We’ve also had some difficulties adjusting to the temperature changes. The turning point of the match was the first penalty against us. I don’t want to comment on the referee’s decision, but in my opinion Sami AL-JABER (9) fell over on his own. Of course, I’m disappointed with this result, because even if we didn’t qualify for the next round, we would at least have liked to have won once. At the end of the day, it’s not all bad. We have after all participated in a World Cup and we will take home some great memories.”

Shaun BARTLETT (9)

“We played fairly well on the whole. We needed a good result. Today, I am very pleased with my team-mates. Our problem in this match was that we didn’t know the FRANCE-DENMARK result, which was being played at the same time. Knowing that FRANCE had won, could’ve given us more enthusiasm. I scored two goals, I was particularly pleased with the first which was pretty cool. The second was only a penalty. I don’t want to comment on the referee’s decisions that led to the Saudi penalties. We simply defended badly and played poorly at that point.”