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6 juin 2023
Mediterranean Team 1-2 Mexico : Post-game reactions
Mexico beat the Mediterranean Team 2-1, with the winner coming in the added time. Here are the post-match reactions from the Mexican and Mediterranean players and coaches.
Nordine Assami (Mediterranean Team coach):
"There are several aspects to take into account, because we were a team that was put together late on. We did our best to put in a good showing, trying to select the best possible talent in the short time available to us.
We have mixed feelings, we're proud of the performance of our players, because to have such a good game in such a short time is really encouraging, but it's also a disappointment, we had the result in our pocket and tried to go for penalties and force the decision.
What we've learnt is that we're up to the level of the competition in this opening game, and now it's up to the players to go and get a positive result against Australia.
With our manager, we're lucky enough to have a small network, to know people at different clubs, agents... In 72 hours, we've combined our strengths to create this team. It was a very difficult mission. We made sure that we respected the Tournament.
Cyril Khetir (Mediterranean Team player):
"We weren't ready to play in this tournament, most of the players were already on holiday, and we were called at the last minute to tell us that there was a great competition to be played. We're all very motivated to play against national teams.
It's important to us to make our mark in this tournament, even if we haven't had much time to prepare before the first match.
I'm delighted to be playing in this tournament again, because last year I played with a nation, and it's different, especially with the national anthem changing, we were playing for a country, whereas today we're playing more for ourselves personally so that we can hope that clubs will contact us. The strength comes from the team, and I hope that will continue until the end of the competition.
We showed character for the first time and I'm pleased with the team, but we're frustrated because we could have had a penalty shoot-out. We're going to learn from our mistakes."
Raul Chabrand (Mexico coach):
«It's complicated to start a game against an unknown team. We didn't have any information about them.
I'm very happy with the way the players performed, especially in terms of their attitude and the effort they put in on the pitch. Obviously, there's a lot of room for improvement, but I'd like to highlight the team's state of mind.
As soon as we found out who this team was, we looked at each of the players and we quickly realised that it was going to be a complicated rivalry. They caused us a lot of problems.
It's a tournament that the Mexican national team has always respected. We're always very proud to come here. You have to take each game one at a time and each one as if it were a final.»
Ramon Juarez (Mexico captain):
« I'll keep the team's state of mind, the lads went and got the win at the end of the game. I'm sure there will be things to change, but the team's spirit and seriousness are still there.
I was ready to respond to the physical impact of our opponents. I know that in France the players are very athletic and have a lot of impact, so no, I wasn't surprised.
When you start a tournament, there's always a lot of nervousness and uncertainty and I think that worked to our disadvantage at the start of the match and then the team freed up and started to play more and feel less nervous on the pitch.
Our aim is to win the tournament. We know it's going to be very complicated, so we're going to take the games step by step, always taking them very seriously and respecting our opponents, because we know this tournament is very complicated to win.»
