Intro:

France coach Laurent Blanc had to put preparations for Saturday's UEFA European Championship quarter-final against Spain on hold as he dealt with the aftermath of the team's dressing-room bust-up following the Group D defeat against Sweden.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (French): Laurent Blanc, French coach:
"Some might criticise the way Spain plays, but personally I would not, because to be honest, when I see Spain play, as a viewer I find it extremely enjoyable. They play the kind of football I love. And I think that if in this room, there are genuine football lovers, they will agree Spain's way of playing is simply incredible and enjoyable to watch."

SOUNDBITE (French): Laurent Blanc, French coach:
"Even though there were some arguments after our match in Kiev, the paradox is that we qualified for the Euro quarter-final. So players were disappointed and upset because they lost the match, things did not work out the way players wanted to, and things heated up a bit. So we tried to calm things down, and I told the boys: listen despite this counter-performance, you have an exciting match to prepare for against Spain."

SOUNDBITE (French): Hugo Lloris, French team captain:
"We know that we will need to defend a lot against Spain, even though we will use our assets. Spain will probably possess the ball more than we will. We are all aware that this match will require a lot of efforts, energy, generosity and solidarity on our end, everyone will need to serve the team's interests. Now, we might actually beat them, we all believe we can."