quotes...from players
Marco MATERAZZI (ITA), Budweiser Man of the Match
I've often come in for criticism and not always fairly, so I think today was a bit of divine justice. I came on for Alessandro Nesta, who for me is the best defender in the world, and I scored straight away.
Tomas ROSICKY (CZE)
I am very sad and very disappointed to be going home. The Italians were not that good, they didn’t have too many chances. We still were in this game even through we only had ten players for a long time. I don't want to think any more about the World Cup right now, for me it's finished.
Pavel NEDVED (CZE)
I want to speak with the coach after my holiday to decide want I can do with my future. I want to rest now, but I will now be supporting Italy for the rest of the tournament.
Petr CECH (CZE)
I'm very disappointed. The Italians were not that good in the game. The Czech Republic played well and we had chances to go to the last 16 but we didn't take them.
David JAROLIM (CZE)
I play here for HSV and to make my national debut in Hamburg was a proud moment but this is a very big disappointment for the team. In the first game we played very well although the USA were not that good. Against Ghana we were taken by surprise a little but because of injuries and illness we have not been at full strength. Italy played a typical Italian game, very strong in defence and it was too difficult for us with ten players. I believe that Ghana and ourselves were the best teams in the group, but perhaps we were not strong enough to win.
Francesco TOTTI (ITA)
We suffered a crisis in the game against the USA but it is forgotten. From now on it is going to be very difficult for us. Every game can be decided by a simple mistake. As for myself I would like to score a goal in order to gain more confidence. Today we finished on top of our group. We could face Brazil later in the competition, who are very strong, and Spain are also tough to beat.
Fabio GROSSO (ITA)
I am very happy with the result as it was very important for us. We have won, although in the second half it was more difficult. We wanted to score a second goal and when we did we knew victory was ours. The most important thing today is that we look more and more like a team and not just football players playing together. Now we have to do better and better. Personally I am happy to avoid playing Brazil in the next match.
Gennaro GATTUSO (ITA)
It was a difficult game. Both teams knew that a loss meant going home. We want to do well for the Italian people as the World Cup comes every four years. For the next game I would like to play Croatia.
Filippo INZAGHI (ITA)
It was a wonderful day for me and now I don't want to think about the next match. I want to thank my team-mates, Mr (Marcello) Lippi and all the Italian supporters as I always felt their support for me. I'm really happy as it was my 50th appearance with the national team and I scored my 22nd goal, the first in the World Cup. I phoned my family after the match and my father was crying with happiness.
Alberto GILARDINO (ITA)
We played a good match. I had no problems playing as the only forward as I used to play in this way when I was at Parma.
Gianluca ZAMBROTTA (ITA)
I had no problems playing on the right. We suffered a lot but it was important to win and we did.
Andrea PIRLO (ITA)
The important thing was to get through this stage and we are all happy. We have a great group and the two goals were scored by players who started the match on the bench.
quotes from coaches...
Karel BRUCKNER (CZE)
We didn't make the most of our set-pieces. Football is a game where you have to find solutions and it's difficult to change the game with ten against 11. Jan Polak's mistakes and his sending-off show a lack of responsibility towards his team-mates.
Italy didn't do anything out of the ordinary. They didn’t make any mistakes and scored when they needed to. I think it was an even match but they knew how to force home their advantage. The decisive match for us was against Ghana. We should have taken the three points but we weren't up to it. Unfortunately, the tournament seems to have come at a time when we've been unfortunate with injuries, particularly in attack where we were without four players.
Marcello LIPPI (ITA)
We were focused on qualifying for the second round, which was our main objective. We knew we had to finish top to avoid Brazil. It was a match between two strong teams who had to win to stay in the tournament. In football, a numerical advantage can make a big difference. We know that only too well after our match against the USA a few days ago.
I replaced Alessandro Nesta because he was holding his groin and signalled to us that he wanted to come off. I would tell you that it was so I could bring on Marco Materazzi to score but that would be a lie (smiles).
I've been asked a lot whether the team have been distracted by things happening at home in Italy at the moment, but that's not the case. The only pressure the players feel comes from the big match nerves. We have a solid, close-knit squad. They know this is a unique opportunity to achieve something and they'll give their all to do it.
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