Schafer loyal to Lions before Germany decider (07.06.2002)
Cameroon manager Winfried Schafer has said he is looking forward to knocking Germany out of the World Cup by beating them in their final Group E clash.
The German was in bullish mood despite having watched his side struggle to beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 on Thursday.
With the Republic of Ireland expected to beat Saudi Arabia in their last group game, the winner of the encounter between Cameroon and Germany will see one team through and one team out.
Schafer is relishing the chance to dump his compatriots out of the tournament. "I am a Lion and as coach of Cameroon I really want to get to the second round at the expense of Germany," he declared.
"I`ve
said again and again it`s a long time until June 11 but now it`s up to us and it`s going to be a decisive game. I didn`t want it to be this way but this is how it has turned out."
And despite the unconvincing nature of victory over Saudi Arabia, Schafer insisted the result had done wonders for team morale. He added: "That win was very important for us. [Patrick] Mboma sang a song in the dressing room afterwards and the others started to sing with him.
"It was very important to achieve this win but we didn`t concentrate as much as we should have in front of goal.
"Saudi Arabia fought hard but congratulations to [Samuel] Eto`o for his goal. He was my man of the match."
