While Les Bleus could find themselves qualified for Euro 2008 before even kicking a ball against the Ukraine, depending on the result of the Scotland-Italy game, Samir Nasri remains, above all, concentrated on the match in the Ukraine.
Les Bleus will play two matches in the coming days: a friendly against Morocco and a decisive Euro 2008 qualifier against the Ukraine…
The match against Morocco will be a good chance to prepare for our game against the Ukraine. We mustn’t underplay its importance because it’ll give us a chance to find our feet and do some good work ahead of the Euro qualifier. We’re going there with a view to winning the game and we’re not worrying about the rest because the objective is above all to qualify. We owe it to ourselves to go there and get a result.
The Ukraine side features Andriy Shevchenko, probably their most dangerous player…
The Ukraine team isn’t just Shevchenko, its a whole team, a squad. I don’t want to underplay Shevchenko, he’s a great player, but he’s not the only danger.
If Italy beats Scotland, France will automatically qualify, without even playing…
The match is important, as it could decide our fate, but we can’t put all our eggs in that basket; no matter what happens, we have to get a result against the Ukraine. If Italy wins, we’ll qualify, and I’ll be a tifoso on Saturday (laughs). Italy is a great footballing nation and every time they find themselves with their backs to the wall, they get the results they need. I feel they can pull out a strong performance even though I’ve been surprised by the defensive qualities of the Scots. I think it’ll probably be a draw. But the result is immaterial, because if we think of ourselves as already qualified before kicking a ball, it could trip us up on the field.
After all the hard work, it would be great to go to the Euros, because it’s the kind of competition every footballer wants to play in. The France team needs to go there with a view to really doing something great.
