FIFAWORLDCUP - Ze
Kalanga (ANG), Budweiser Man of the Match
I'm delighted with the award, but the result was not the one we wanted.
It was very hot out there and we were exhausted. It was hard for us to
get in the game at first because our other two matches kicked off later.
Although we gave it our all it just wasn’t enough, but I’m sure things
will be different in four years' time. Mehdi MAHDAVIKIA (IRN)
Even though we were out before the game started, we really wanted to win
today. There's no question we were the better side. We also created
better chances and it's a real shame we didn't capitalise on them. We're
out of the World Cup with just a single point to our name, which is very
disappointing.
Rahman REZAEI (IRN)
We outclassed Angola today and we had several excellent chances that we
just couldn't take. Overall, though, we just weren't strong enough. The
World Cup was a terrific experience for our young players, and now we
have time to prepare and do it all over again in four years.
Hossein KAABI (IRN)
I don't think we were up to it to be frank. I had a few injury niggles
and neither myself nor the team were able to play our best football.
Let’s see what the future brings for us.
LOKO (ANG)
We lacked experience and we were nowhere near adventurous enough to take
the opportunity we had to reach the last 16.
FLAVIO (ANG)
I'm ecstatic at being the first Angolan to score in a World Cup finals
match. I had a few problems at the start of the tournament because I
wasn't being selected. Thanks to the team psychologist and my family,
though, I picked myself up and achieved something historic. We put a lot
of effort in but we lacked the organisation we needed to qualify.
JOAO RICARDO (ANG)
We were the lowest-ranked of all the finalists, and our group contained
some of the best teams in the world. We don't have a superstar in our
ranks and our players are in some of Europe's lower leagues. When you
consider all that, I think we did exceptionally well in our first World
Cup. All that was missing was a little more experience.
MENDONCA (ANG)
We're going back to Angola tomorrow and we'll be celebrating until
Friday!
