Belgium - L. Nilis: "We're going to play at 200% against Korea"

24.06.98 17h16 CET

Statements from the Belgian team at Mesnil Amelout (BELGIUM team residence) June 24 at 12 noon.

Filip DE WILDE (1): "I'm pleased with the way the injury to my adductors is healing. Yesterday I was able to practice with the team without any problem. I don't expect to play unless I'm %100, but I'm keeping a positive attitude. I committed one error in the match against MEXICO but I made some good saves otherwise. SOUTH KOREA is a good team that commands respect. They played well for 37 minutes against the NETHERLANDS before being beaten by one of the tournament favourites."

 Lokonda MPENZA (20): "I have to put the newspaper critics out of my mind. If I play, I will try to show my coach what I'm worth. What really matters is that we win the match. This is my first World Cup and I hope to play in others. Psychologically, media scrutiny is very difficult to deal with in a large sporting event like the World Cup."

Franky VAN DER ELST (6): "I'm really tired after having played such a physical game against MEXICO. Our team needs all it's strength to win our match against SOUTH KOREA. That's why the physio and I agreed that Philippe CLEMENT (15) should take my place. This match is too important. I have 85 caps, so one more or one less doesn't make much difference. The team's qualification is what matters most. I still have a career ahead of me." 

Luc NILIS (10): "The fact that we drew against Mexico does not have us worried. We're going to play at 200% in our match against SOUTH KOREA. We're going to be relaxed and play our game without worrying about the MEXICO - NETHERLANDS match. There's no point speculating in football. We hope to score right away against SOUTH KOREA so that we have the upper-hand from the start."

Enzo SCIFO (14) : "We're not going to pay attention to what happens in the MEXICO match. We saw how MAROCCO was counting on the BRAZIL game for its qualification, and their hopes were dashed right at the end. Despite our difficulties, we have drawn twice. A win against SOUTH KOREA would give us 5 points -- whereas other teams are getting into the round of 16 with 3 or 4 points. At this point, we are not the masters of our own destiny. We can't let ourselves get carried away -- we need to concentrate and focus on beating SOUTH KOREA, We've been working on recuperating since Saturday, and I think we are physically prepared for tomorrow's match."