Willy Sagnol, head coach of the Georgia national team, held a post-match press conference after losing to Turkey (1:3)

“It is not good when you lose a match but I can only say about my team and myself that something else was important because we played very well, had many good moments but it is football. We are not happy with the loss but I am happy with my team’s performance. Playing at the European Championship is kind of reward for the work that the players, the staff, the federation have done over the years and I am very happy to be a part of it.

Of course, we want to make through to the next round but the main thing for us now is to play well and gain experience because we are still in the development stage. This tournament will help us to grow even more in the future. Now we have to prepare for the match against Czech Republic and I am sure we will be able to play at this level again.

Why did Mamardashvili leave his net at the last minute? Because we did not want to lose, but it happens in football. I think we did not deserve this defeat.

All that was missing was a bit of talent, a bit of experience – the sort of things we are only going to gain through being in tournaments like this.

Today we were playing at the most fantastic stadiums of the world. This stadium is made for football and emotions. Atmosphere in the stadium was great. The only thing I regret is that many Turkish fans boo the national anthem of Georgia. That is not good. We must respect each other”, - said Sagnol.

Georgia will hold the next match against Czech Republic on June 22 in Hamburg.

WORLDSPORT.GE from Dortmund