Girard lauds 'positive' France

France coach René Girard could not hide his delight after Florent Sinama-Pongolle (45), Yohan Gouffran (71) and captain Antonio Mavuba (75) struck without reply to complete a comfortable victory against Germany. Girard reserved special praise for Gouffran, 20 today, and a defence which is yet to concede in two outings. Opposite number Dieter Eilts was not disheartened, and is already looking forward to "a final" against Portugal as Group A concludes on Sunday.

René Girard, France coach
The first 45 minutes were difficult. I decided to try and close them off down the wings as the Germans are very tall and I wanted to stop them getting balls into the middle. My team negotiated the first half very well and in the last ten minutes we increased the quality of our play. Maybe we scored a lucky goal but it was very important to get the lead before half-time. This should be enough to see us through the group and help convince those who say we don't score enough goals. We were really in control today.

I am proud of my players and particularly pleased for Yohan who scored on his birthday. It was very special for him. We defended from the front - our defenders have now given us two great matches. We had some injuries before coming to Portugal so not all the players are used to playing together, but they have shown great intelligence and everything is going well. The whole group is together - you can see this even among the substitutes. We are very positive.

Dieter Eilts, Germany coach
I congratulate the French team. We are a little bit disappointed because we had not expected this result. Having stopped France from creating any chances for much of the first half they scored at a very bad time. We tried to play a little bit more offensively in the second half and we had some chances. We tried to continue with our own game and play our way but with the second goal the game was lost. I cannot be angry with my team because they always tried to score, even when France had three goals.

That is what makes me optimistic about the game against Portugal. It will be like a final and a match to see. I am very confident that our team will be positive and give a good account of themselves. I have to analyse this match and then we will see what system we will use against the hosts. It does not mean that the system depends on the opponent but we have to recognise our own strengths and powers and put these to good effect to win the match.