Saniol: Our sole responsibility is to make the country proud of the players

After defeating Portugal in the Euro Cup group stage, Georgian head coach Saniol attended the press conference.

On pre-match preparations:
"To be honest, I don't remember what I said to the players before the game, but my message was for them to play their own football, stay disciplined without the ball, and play when they have it. I told them to remember how they played at 16 or 17, without any fear, and they did incredibly well today, exceeding all expectations."

On comparing his achievement as a player in reaching the World Cup final with France in 2006 to today's achievement:
"It's hard to compare moments on the field and on the sideline. We're still focused on the game, it's hard to realize what we're doing, and a lot can happen when we lose. I don't have many words, but I'm very proud of the players because they've shown the image of Georgia in these three matches, and I'm very proud to be their coach."

On Georgia's style:
"When you're a 'small' team, you know you have nothing to lose. Before the match, the only thing we said was not to have regrets, to play our football, and to enjoy the game as we should. There's no pressure; our only responsibility is to make Georgia proud of their players, and I think we've done that in the best possible way. Looking at our bench, from a football quality perspective, it may not be the most exciting, but in terms of human quality, it's exceptional. I'm very, very happy. I think our limit was just to qualify, but football is never written in advance. Kiteishvili was fantastic today; he went through two weeks of injury but could play for a top European club without any problems."

On the upcoming match against Spain:
"Simply qualifying is a dream. We dream of reaching the Round of 16, but we don't think it's possible. Before the match, we didn't try to figure out who we'd face if we won; we just let it happen naturally. Spain is coming, and they may have been the best in the group stage, so it's another huge challenge. If this challenge is too big, I don't know, but we will fight from the first minute, just like we did throughout the game."

On when he thought Georgia would qualify:
"If you want me to be honest, I only believed it when the referee blew the final whistle, because that's football—you can play a brilliant game and then lose it at the last moment. We've been watching the clock every second! In the end, we just feel very empty."