3 July 2007, by Marco Pereira

Portugal 2-0 New Zealand - Match Reaction

Bruno Gama, Portugal forward

“It’s important to enter a tournament by winning. Now we will try to do the same thing against Mexico, because a victory will qualify us for the next round, but they are one of the favourites and they will do everything to try and win also.”

Jose Couceiro, Portugal coach

“I think we deserved to win the game; we were the better team. They were an aggressive and organised team with some quality, but we had more quality and ended up winning.”

“Despite what happened, it was perhaps the second worst defensive game that we have played this season. There were many errors and we will correct this because we could have suffered goals when the game should have been over. The pitch was abrasive and hot which created some problems as well.”

“It is important that the team won and gained confidence. It is important that the team believes that they possess quality and are a good team in order to qualify for the next round. I think they will gain more confidence as each match goes by, as was evident today.”

Zequinha, Portugal striker:

“New Zealand played well but we were superior and we would like to continue this way.”

“It doesn’t matter if we won from dead ball situations or open play, what matters is that the ball went in the net.”

Portugal 2-0 New Zealand - Match Report