"Brutally unfortunate"

Baumgartner disappointed: “It’s brutally unfortunate”

Christoph Baumgartner was disappointed.

(Bild: AFP/APA/FRANCK FIFE)

Austria's national soccer team presented themselves disappointed but also combative after their bitter opening defeat against France on Monday. The French, on the other hand, were relieved after the win. 

Konrad Laimer (Austria player): "In the end, it doesn't matter how the goal happened. On the whole, we showed how well we can play. France are a team with a lot of quality. We know that they will have one or two chances. We also had our moments, but we didn't finish them off cleanly. We lacked the necessary luck, the necessary momentum in finishing. It was the first game, we still have two more. Now we have to recover and then win the game on Friday."

Bitter opening evening at the European Championships for the ÖFB players

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Christoph Baumgartner (Austria player): "It's brutally unfortunate. I don't think we were the worse team for long stretches of the game. When you see how deep the French were at the end, you could tell that we had them somewhere. What we lacked was penetration and finishing. We can't blame ourselves too much. We still have every chance. Poland will be a very important game and we should win it. We won't give up, that's not our DNA."

Didier Deschamps (France coach): "I'm relieved, but also satisfied with the game. We could have won it earlier, but it was a difficult opponent who pressed very well and also stood up well. It was a solid start, sometimes we perhaps lacked a little accuracy. The quality is there. The players know that they also have to be on the ball. It was a good start for us, even if we're not going to go crazy now."

N'Golo Kanté (France player): "That's how we wanted it to be. We weren't perfect, but we got the result we wanted. This win gives us strength and momentum. We need to be a bit more solid and efficient."