All the yellow cards put our defense under pressure. They were afraid of being taken out of the game. |
All three are key players on our team and their absence is a serious blow. |
Everybody thought this championship could produce unexpected results and Portugal-Greece already showed this. In our group, all teams can produce surprises. |
I have decided against calling any more players, so we have only 17 instead of 19 players on the squad now. |
I liked neither the performance nor the result. The defense got a series of yellow cards in the first half that paralyzed them in the second half. My players were obviously scared of the opponent. |
Our task was to come here and qualify for the quarter-finals. We did not do that so we were unsuccessful. |
People might say we didn't need this victory. I think we very much needed it. The Russian soccer needed it. Look at how many rookies we had. |
We expect a tough game, because both teams have everything to lose. It will be crucial. |