France – A. Boghossian: “We won't lose our concentration”

France – A. Boghossian: “We won’t lose our concentration”

06.07.98 18h13 CET

Statements from Clairefontaine (south-east of PARIS)

Bernard DIOMEDE (13):

“We will have to excel ourselves in the match against CROATIA and remain solid in defence. CROATIA is a good all-round team, and plays a very skilful, physical game of football. They surprised me once already, in the 1993 European Cup when I was at Auxerre and we played “Croatia Zaghreb”: they beat us 3-1 in the away match and we won 3-0 in the second leg.”

Laurent BLANC (5):

“We weren’t expecting to play the Croats in the final stages. Still, it is not a great surprise since this team is one of the outside favourites. I know a few of their players. They are very good, and most importantly they play well as a team which allows the qualities of individual players to come out. They will not be easy opponents. We will try to play to our strengths. FRANCE has a solid defensive foundation, which it is important to keep or even improve on. It will be a very open match since the Croats will create many chances.”

Alain BOGHOSIAN (14):

“We will give our all for this match against CROATIA. We are all very aware of the importance of this World Cup, and we won’t lose our concentration. If we have relaxed in training over these last couple of days it is only because we need to recuperate. The match is the only thing on our minds at the moment and we have no intention of losing. CROATIA has players of above average technical ability, like Aljosa ASANOVIC (7) and Zvonimir BOBAN (10 – captain), but the French defence is always in the right place at the right time. Marcel DESAILLY (8) and Lilian THURAM (15) have shown from the start of this World Cup that they are excellent players with a great sense of position. The semi-final will be a tough obstacle to clear. It is true that until now semi-finals have been unlucky for FRANCE (we remember only too well the 1982 and 1986 World Cups). But I am still very confident. One of the strengths of our team is that we are able to focus completely on the next match, without worrying about what will face us later. At the moment, the final is the last thing on our minds.”