Netherlands-Argentina – Ph. Cocu: “We can beat Brazil”

Netherlands-Argentina – Ph. Cocu: “We can beat Brazil”

04.07.98 20h14 CET

Frank DE BOER (4), captain:

“Against BRAZIL (semi-final, Tuesday 7 July at 21h00 in MARSEILLE), we will have to be very watchful of RIVALDO (10). I feel very good… not too tired, but the Brazilians will definitely have an advantage over us, having one more day of rest than we do. I don’t believe BRAZIL is any better than ARGENTINA, and since we are in good shape, we can beat anyone.”

Phillip COCU (11):

“I believe that we can beat BRAZIL in the semi-final. We should try to pressure them as the Danish did last night. If, on the other hand, we play against them as we did against ARGENTINA, we could easily put their game off.”

Ronald DE BOER (7):

“The team is in good physical form. At this level, it is important that we concentrate on the game for the entire 90 minutes, and not only play for the first 15. Tuesday, we will avoid the anti-RONALDO (9) strategies that DENMARK used. He nevertheless made two decisive passes… there are other players to be watched.”

Jaap STAM (3):

“It was a very intense match, particularly with the goalpost balls. In the second half, we practically dominated the game up until the red card. Just at that moment, we were beginning to lose ground. With ORTEGA sent off, we were able to retrieve our equilibrium and fortunately, score just before the end.”

Dennis BERGKAMP (8):

“I was very tired at the end of the match and I would have liked to have come off. When ORTEGA was sent off, I told myself that I could continue a bit longer, and this brought me luck. Thanks to this goal, I have become the national team’s greatest striker of all time. In my opinion, it was the most difficult match of our World Cup experience. We are going to have to recuperate physically to confront BRAZIL.”

Patrick KLUIVERT (9):

“BERGKAMP and I make an excellent attacking duo. We proved this by scoring one goal each. If we compare ARGENTINA to BRAZIL, I don’t think that BRAZIL is at a better technical level. After two matches without playing, I was very motivated. I didn’t appreciate staying on the bench but I hope that with my goal, the coach will trust me now for the semi-final.”

Edwin VAN DER SAR (1):

“I don’t think there was a penalty. I said to ORTEGA: “Come on, get up!” But afterwards, I realised that it probably had been a penalty. After ORTEGA’s (10) red card, the Argentines seemed a bit lost. It’s unfortunate that NUMAN (5) will not play in the semi-final, but I hope that he will have the opportunity to play in the Final.”

Arthur NUMAN (5):

“I am excited about our victory. When we scored the second goal, I even forgot that I had been sent off. After my expulsion from the pitch, we lost a lot of ground, which could have cost us the game. I watched the end of the match from the changing rooms. When we scored, I ran onto the pitch despite attempts by a dozen people to stop me.”