FRANCE 98 – Chile – J. Margas: “Our players are holding the team's future in their hands”

Chile – J. Margas: “Our players are holding the team’s future in their hands”

22.06.98 19h10 CET

Comments from NANTES

Ivan ZAMORANO, Captain (9):

“It’s often said that you should never under-estimate any team in this World Cup, and that is entirely true for CAMEROON. Their energy could pose problems for us, but we are confident. We have recovered physically and mentally and we are ready to play our own game without worrying about what may be happening on other pitches. Personally, I’ve no doubt that we’ll qualify – we’ve played well since the beginning of this World Cup. It would be a dream come true to make it to the next round.”

Francisco ROJAS (4):

“Although everyone talks about only SALAS (11) and ZAMORAMO (9), CHILE have a real team. We haven’t been lucky until now, but I hope our luck will change tomorrow when we play CAMEROON. The match may look difficult but despite this I’m hopeful. I’d like to play BRAZIL in the second round – and I secretly hope to eliminate them. We want to make history in this World Cup.”

Marcelo SALAS (11):

“The match against CAMEROON is of course very important, but I’ve played more determinant games. I have full confidence in our squad and I’m sure we’ll qualify. We’re not feeling any more pressure than we did when we faced AUSTRIA and ITALY. CAMEROON is a young team, with some good individual players but which also has some weaknesses – particularly as far as defence is concerned. We hope to count on that to win. In spite of everything we must be careful not to be too overawed at the prospect of playing BRAZIL, but to just play the game on the day.”

Javier MARGAS (5):

“Our players are holding the team’s future in their hands. Winning depends entirely on us. I’m not disappointed by our last matches, we just didn’t have luck on our side. We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had, so we need to keep working on that. We should have six points by now, but we don’t. Losing hasn’t crossed our minds. For me, this match will be the most important of my career.”