Cristiano Ronaldo: "I want to enjoy this as much as possible, because it will be my last World Cup. But I hope that tomorrow won't be my last game in the World Cup."
Igor Matanovic: "Honestly, I think I felt a slight contact with my hair. I asked the referee, I wasn't 100 percent sure if I had touched the ball. He told me that they have a chip in the ball, that there was a slight contact and that, therefore, it was offside."
Ronaldo: "To win a competition of this magnitude, we have to know how to suffer. We controlled the game quite a bit in the first half, the second was more chaotic. They scored, we got a bit stressed, but the emotional breakthrough came when we scored the penalty. From then on, the game was easier."
Steve Clarke: “It just feels like the right time to step away. Signing the contract before the tournament was a case of trying to give a little comfort to the players. If we managed to get that extra point and got out of the group, I would’ve probably stayed on and tried to do another tournament.”
NFL Legend Tom Brady: "Why does [European Football] fire so many coaches all the time? Tottenham had three coaches last year. Why is everyone firing everybody? Don't they realize the players play? I'm sure if you have Leo Messi as one of your forwards, you're not going to lose that much."
Roberto Martinez on not subbing out Ronaldo: "Cristiano is in good physical condition, we monitor his physical information live, and Cristiano was very, very good."
Cristiano Ronaldo: "God helps those who work hard. It was a difficult, dark week; it felt like I’d already retired from football. It’s 23 years I’ve been a professional and whenever things don’t go well it’s: ‘Cristiano, he’s finished, he’s old.’ It was difficult, I have to admit, but we’re back."
Norwegian Chess Legend Magnus Carlsen: “We went to the World Cup in 1994. I was a little bit too young to follow them, but then in 1998 and the 2000 European Championship, I followed a lot and thought we’re going to be here every time. I thought this was normal, but it turned out it wasn’t.”
Arsene Wenger: "There’s one man who is at the centre of all expectations: Kylian Mbappe. I’m ready to bet on it, he’s going to have a fantastic World Cup. He’s physically fresh, he’s not overworked. He’s been unfairly criticized this season. He became the scapegoat for an average Real Madrid team."
Joshua Kimmich: "I had the feeling that Bayern were very open to letting me go [in 2024]. I spoke with Max Eberl who told me 'If you want to leave, then you're for sale.' Paris sent me an offer. The financial aspect was incredible. I was 95 percent sure I wouldn't extend my contract with Bayern."
Luis Enrique: "When you play against a team like Arsenal with Mikel Arteta, they try to defend in the best way. They were lucky because they started with the action and scored a goal. After that, they defended very well, very deep. It was difficult to overcome them."
Since joining PSG, Luis Enrique is 6-0 in penalty shootouts with three different goalkeepers (Matvei Safonov, Lucas Chevalier, and Gianluigi Donnarumma)