Luiz Felipe Scolari, Portugal (Coach):
"We've drawn some very tough opponents but
we're obliged to go through. As such, we need to bear in mind
that only the first-placed team earn a direct passage to the World
Cup, and the second only have a slim chance (of qualifying). We
won't just have to contend with Sweden and Denmark, because
they've appeared at the World Cup before, but also with the
lesser-known national sides who also dream of qualifying. They can
take points from you that later prove decisive in the final
reckoning. You have to respect them all. That said, I think that
Portugal have done a good job of overhauling their squad and,
despite a few hiccups along the way, were able to qualify for the
European Championship. Once the younger players have experienced
that competition in 2008 first-hand, our national team will have an
even better chance (at South Africa 2010)."
Lars Lagerback, Sweden (Coach):
"I've not really analysed the other draws
but I am quite sure that ours is one of the toughest. We obviously
know Denmark extremely well, they're our neighbours, and it
will be tough to face them again, as it has been in the EUROs. And
then you have Portugal, who have some quite superb young players
coming through. It's a very tough group but Sweden has a good
record of qualifying for World Cups in recent and hopefully we can
make sure that continues."
Morten Olsen, Denmark (Coach):
"I don't think there's any doubt that
Portugal, Sweden and Denmark will be battling it out at the top of
this group. We're a country with a strong footballing tradition
and we thrive against tough opponents. It will be important to have
our best players available for these matches. And I don't think
there's much to choose between ourselves and Sweden. We drew
against them in qualifying for EURO 2008, and lost against them
because of non-sporting reasons, so now we'll have the
opportunity to get revenge. But they are two different competitions
at different times, so we'll have to see what
happens."





