Didier Deschamps rues 'unfair' defeat

Les Bleus were condemned to defeat by Shinji Kagawa's late strike, in a friendly arranged to prepare the 1998 World Cup winners for their upcoming qualifying clash with Spain. The former Marseille coach is confident his players will recover for Tuesday's game however, and believes that it will be entirely different to the one on Friday. DESCHAMPS 'HURT' BY JAPAN LOSS "I will not rejoice. When you cannot win, do not lose. It hurts and it is unfair compared to what we did, but from the first minute we did not have offensive efficiency," he told reporters. "The result hurts, but we had a lot of chances. This happens in football. It is not always the dominant [team] that wins. But we will not linger over it, we will recover and prepare for Tuesday's game. "When you do not score, there is always the possibility that [the other team will]. But there will be a totally different balance of forces on Tuesday." France striker Karim Benzema also took the time to reflect on the defeat, admitting that the Japanese provided a stern test for the Euro 2012 quarter-finalists. "There is disappointment. But it was a good match, and we played a good team," the Real Madrid forward opined. "It is a friendly but I wish that we had won. We put in a lot of energy. We had opportunities, [but nothing came of them]."

Captaincy has not changed me, says Strootman

The 22-year-old was handed the armband for his side's World Cup qualification fixtures against Andorra and Romania, in absence of Inter playmaker Wesley Sneijder. The PSV man has since expressed his appreciation for coach Louis van Gaal's confidence, but insists he has not adapted his game to suit his new role. "I didn't expect [to be handed the captaincy] when I arrived. I was pleasantly surprised," Strootman told reporters after his side's 3-0 win over Andorra. "It does give you a special feeling. But once you're on the field, you forget about it. I'm still the same, even with the armband, that's important. You shouldn't suddenly behave differently." Netherlands next fixture comes against Romania, who currently top Group D on goal difference ahead of Oranje.

Jordi Alba: I don't care that my goal was offside

The Barcelona wing-back gave the world champions the lead after 12 minutes of play following an intelligent pass from Pedro, but replays showed that he was actually in an offside position when the ball was played. However, the defender is not giving too much thought to the refereeing error, as all that matters to him was that the goal eventually stood. "It doesn't matter if it was offside. The ones that go on the scoreboard are the ones that count," he was quoted as saying by AS. "It was a good bit of team play. Pedro picked me out fantastically, with his back-heel, which put me through and let me score with my right. I'm very happy with the goal. "I'm happy with how things are going, and I'm always happy to score. I'm comfortable with Spain and with Barcelona." Barcelona resume match action on Tuesday when they take on France.

Rueda praises Ecuador home form

El Tri have emerged victorious from all their home fixtures to date, and find themselves in third place in the qualification standings as a result. Rueda has since lauded his side's performances in their own country, but has warned his troops that they are yet to secure qualification. "The fixtures were all evenly balanced, but we managed to score at just the right time and then see things through once we got ahead," the 55-year old told Fifa's official website. "Those things influence our opponents as they know they've little margin for error." Rueda's side have been far less impressive in their away fixtures up to date, having succumbed to a 4-0 defeat to Argentina earlier in the campaign. However, the Cali native is confident his side's performances will improve with time, citing inexperience as a key aspect in his side's defeats. "The inexperience of some of the players starting out in the team is a factor," the Colombian explained. "So for me it's a question of maturing. We lack a bit of cunning, if I can put it that way, to get the job done. But as the players continue to grow I hope to see more results like the [1-1 draw] in Uruguay." Ecuador's next qualification fixture comes in the form of a trip to Venezuela on October 16.

Mourinho: Not everyone liked Jesus Christ and even fewer people like me

The former Inter and Chelsea boss is arguably one of the most controversial figures around in the game, but the 49-year-old is not worried about his image. "Not everyone liked Jesus Christ, and even fewer people like me," Mourinho was quoted as saying by A Bola. The former Inter coach then went on to discuss his side's Champions League ambitions, and insisted that European club football's elite competition is not an obsession for the Blancos. "The Champions League is not an obsession for Real Madrid this season. My personal ego has already been satisfied [by winning it with Porto and Inter]. "I have more experience now and I'm more mature. I'm not trying to prove anything to other people anymore, now I want to prove something to myself." Real Madrid sit atop of the table in their Champions League group with six points from two games after beating Manchester City and Ajax. They take on Borussia Dortmund in their next European match.

De Biasi: Two carelessness, two goals

Albania football selector, Gianni de Biasi, says the defeat of Iceland came from two defense department negligence.
"It was a meeting that should win, but it is not managed. Field affected to some extent, but this is not an excuse. "We took a goal in the first half, which came from our defense heedlessness baraspeshuam everything back into the second fraction meeting with confidence to obtain the required result. I think we played better than the opponent, which in turn had a good team and they had quality players'."Iceland reached the victory thanks to him, foul forgiven by the judge, which turned into a goal. Pësuam twice those positions I was afraid throughout the week, where we have been working hard in this direction, but failed to Prevention. It's a waste to burn, "said the Italian.

Benzema: I want to achieve success Zidane

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, wants to achieve the same success that he had achieved Zinedine Zidane. The Frenchman, who joined Madrid from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2009, says he often seeks advice from French football legend. "I enjoyed meeting with Zidane, because it was a dream. I met him, I talked with him. I was pleased. I always seek advice from him, and he gave me some. " "I hope that I will have a career other than that, but the same success," said Benzema.