Smerecki smiling after France fightback
Sunday, May 4, 2008
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France coach Francis Smerecki hailed his side's spirit against the Republic of Ireland as Switzerland's Yves Débonnaire admitted that Spain outclassed his team.
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FRANCE 2-1 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Francis Smerecki, France coach
I was expecting such a tough game. After we fell behind we started to play more offensively and we found the solution thanks to our quality attacking players. My players reacted very well. We need just this kind of reaction if we want to reach the final. The last-minute goal made us happy, no doubt it has boosted our morale and motivation. We want to play the rest of the games with this kind of attacking play and positive spirit.
Sean McCaffrey, Republic of Ireland manager
It was a disappointing result for us. France were physically and technically better than us. The pitch was big enough for France to benefit from this situation. They are a really good team. We couldn't perform in the second half like we did in the first half. It was very hot, maybe the players were affected by the sun but no excuse, both the goals we conceded are our fault. We just lacked a player who could keep the ball in midfield and control the game. Robbie [Brady] had an injury problem, that's why I replaced him.
SPAIN 2-0 SWITZERLAND
Ginés Meléndez, Spain assistant coach
It was a very difficult match. In the second half we were the better side. I wasn't worried in the first half as I knew the goal would come. We played tactically very well, and I think we have a very good chance of reaching the final.
Yves Débonnaire, Switzerland coach
It's easy – Spain were too strong for Switzerland. With the ball we had a problem, without the ball we had a problem. In the first half we tried something, OK, in the second half we tried something else but Spain were too strong. We learn, we learn. My teams have now played Spain three times; three years ago [when Switzerland held Spain to qualify for the finals] it was a good game, 1-1. Last year we had a good match, we had a chance but they had Bojan Krkić [who scored in a 1-0 Spain win]. This year I think Spain play better football, all their players show good movement. It was impossible for my team this year, last year my team had better spirit and more intelligence, we had a better chance against Spain.