Reaction: World Cup managers speak to FFT
FourFourTwo grabs a quick word with the great and the good of world football in the aftermath of the World Cup 2014 draw...
Roy Hodgson on England's group:
"Every game is winnable. I am not a manager that thinks things will go well or bad just based on seeing the names of the opponents. We will face great players I have the utmost respect for, like [Mario] Balotelli, [Edinson] Cavani and [Luis] Suarez. But I am sure they will give us that same respect. Everyone will have to acclimatise to play up north [in Manaus, where England will face Italy in their opening game]. We will probably do ours in Miami. But that's the World Cup, you have to overcome those difficulties."
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli on the prospect of playing in Manaus - and facing England, Uruguay and Costa Rica:
"You have to be prepared, no excuses. The World Cup demands you to be able to play anywhere. We want to win so we will be ready. It is a tough group, but there are no easy teams in the World Cup."
Celso Otero - assistant to Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez - on Uruguay's draw:
"We have to play two great world champions [England and Italy] and that makes it one of the toughest groups. We have a lot to improve on before the World Cup begins if we are to play at the highest level."
Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto:
"We have a very tough group, no one else will have to play three world champions [Uruguay, Italy and England]. We are a dark horse, but we were in the CONCACAF qualifiers too."
Brazil manager Luiz Filipe Scolari on the host's group - Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon:
"I have no reason to be happy. It is the World Cup. Firstly we face a good European team [Croatia], in an always tense first game. Then we have a regional derby with Mexico and then Cameroon, which is a good representative of Africa. We have to think one game after the other. It will take us a lot of work to qualify and play a god World Cup."
Germany coach Joachim Low on Germany's geographical concerns:
"We have no easy games, and we would rather have been playing in the South, where the temperatures will be better [Germany will instead play in Salvador, Fortaleza and Recife]. But now we have to accept this and prepare. Portugal will be especially tough. All our opponents are at a very high level."
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque on Spain's charts of retaining the World Cup - they'll face the Netherlands, Chile and Australia:
"We know Chile very well, we know they are tougher to beat now. They know us too. It is a clasico with Holland. Not an easy group. We can't think about playing Brazil in the round of 16 or later on. Our focus has to be in the first round."
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Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella on drawing Nigeria, Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina:
"It is an advantage to play in places where the temperatures are mild. Our supporters won't be far too. I won't say that word you want me to say about the group (easy)."
USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann on the prospect of facing his homeland in Group G, where they'll also face Portugal and Ghana:
"It will be a special meeting with Germany, we won in the last time we played. Football in America has improved a lot. We are in one of the toughest groups, no doubt."
Australia coach Ange Postecoglou on his team's nightmare draw - the Socceroos will face Spain, the Netherlands and Chile:
"We are a young football nation, and the draw will allow us to get some headlines. It is a very tough group with the world champions."
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