USA–CZECH REPUBLIC: Players' Quotes

12 June 2006

Tomas ROSICKY (CZE) (Budweiser Man of the Match)

I am used to playing on this field against Schalke and I normally play well on this pitch. Today was no exception, I guess.

Tomas UJFALUSI (CZE)
It's a good start, but we really can't go and get ahead of ourselves just yet. This is still a very difficult group and there are very tough teams still to play against like Italy and Ghana. (Tomas) Rosicky was tremendous for us today and really he made it easier for the rest of us. It's good to start with a win, but we have more work to do.

Pavel NEDVED (CZE)
We played a good game and the result really is just what we needed, but it was a shame that Jan (Koller) had to leave the game with an injury.

Petr CECH (CZE)
I think we played a pretty good game today and though the result may have made it look like an easy game, it was very difficult. The US were very well organised and made things difficult for us. (Claudio) Reyna could have equalised but the shot came off the post and luckily it didn't hit me in the back and go in. Really, in the end, we scored three great goals and did enough to earn the win.

Jan KOLLER (CZE)
There was a lot of pain in my hamstring when I took that last stride, but since then it has been feeling a little better. I am sure it's not a tear, but only a strain and for this I am grateful. I will have four days' rest now and I am confident I will be back for our third group game. This game was a good start but now we have to focus and keep up the pressure on our group rivals.

Steve CHERUNDOLO (USA)
It was not a good day for us. We need to get better now and keep our shape better in the next game with Italy. We didn't win enough of the second balls, but we absolutely still have a chance. We will overcome this loss and present ourselves in a better manner next time against Italy.

Josh WOLFF (USA)
To concede such an early goal is always going to put you in a tough spot. We did OK at points in the game, Reyna hit the post and we had our moments, but we will really need to improve ahead of our next game (against Italy).

Eddie LEWIS (USA)
That early goal really killed us. We had a game plan and an idea in our heads about how we should play, but after that goal it all went out the window. We had to push forward and that left us susceptible to the counterattack. Their shot-to-goal ratio was good, but they are world-class players and that’s what world-class players do: they take their chances.

Brian MCBRIDE (USA)
We just didn’t play well enough tonight and we came up against a really good team. We have to learn to play more composed at speed and have a little more confidence. Now we need to build on the few things we did right and get back on track.

John O'BRIEN (USA)
The early goal made things pretty hard on us. But I think we have positives we can build on. Captain Claudio played very well tonight. I'm just happy to be here after all my injury troubles and do whatever I can do to help the team.

Bobby CONVEY (USA)
We need to forget about this game as quickly as is humanly possible. If we come out and play like this against Italy we're going to lose again. We really need to learn from the mistakes we made tonight.

Landon DONOVAN (USA)
We played OK in the first half and we are still alive if we get a result in our next game. All is not lost and we will keep on fighting.